Wingless
by RhythmUnseen
Summary: Skye has left the facility. She is young, scared, and alone now in the world with no home to go back to. Andy is gone and all she has left now is her two Grimm. This is her struggle to find life.
1. Chapter 1

The cold gust swept up the alley and ran up my side. It made me shiver. Like I wasn't already shivering.

I pulled the newspapers around me tighter, Spira's wings were spread over me as she tried to keep me warm while Basher sat in the crevice between my legs and my chest. The cold wind woke me up but I hadn't been sleeping. Sitting against the putrid alley wall I could only glimpse at sleep, teetering on the edge as it teased me.

It was only my second week away from the facility and already I was forced to sleep like a homeless person. The first week I spent running, busses and airships, whatever I could get onto I did. I chased newspaper ads, odd jobs, rumors, trying to make a living for myself. Those jobs made me a few bucks but it wasn't enough. I was used to a different, more comfortable life and it set me back. I burned through my money on meals and motels. More of it was spent fueling my alcohol addiction. Most of it was spent on that. I went through bottle after bottle to numb the pain, to take the edge off, to help me forget. By the end of the week I was broke. I hadn't slept well in three days, hadn't eaten in seven.

I dug into one of my bags, still quaking because of the cold, until I pulled out two photos. They were wrapped in plastic and taped together to make them waterproof and to protect them from the elements. Those caring soft eyes stared back up at me. Her orange hair, that loving smile, those warm cheeks were perfect, an angel to my weary eyes. Then there were those fluffy peaks of orange fur and ear protruding from her head that I adored so much. This was the only source of warmth I had in the dark dank alley, staring at these photos. It was the only blanket I had to protect me from the wind.

Another gust of wind swept through the alley and ripped the picture from my hand and I cried in horror. I stumbled to my feet and chased after them, fumbling into the street before I caught it. A horn screeched from behind me and I turned to see the headlights of an oncoming truck. Basher leapt out from the sidewalk and tackled me as Spira took my by the back of my collar. Their momentum pushed me out of the street and onto the sidewalk where I collapsed.

I unraveled from my protective ball and stared at my precious photo, that foxy face still smiling back up at me. Silently I wept, wishing so much that she was here. Something inside me burned, thinking that everything would be fine if she were here with me. She alone could take away all of my pain and suffering somehow, someway.

The sun was just peaking over the skyline that I didn't know. I didn't even know the name of the city I was in just that I was in Vale. People in suits and store uniform trudged past me giving me scowls and odd looks but ultimately paying me no mind. Some jerk tossed out a crumpled Lien bill. I stared at the bill disgustingly, getting up and stepping to the edge of the sidewalk. Looking back over my shoulder, I went and picked up the Lien. It disgusted me having to rely on others or taking their charity but in my situation I needed it.

Stuffing it into my pocket I went back to my alley. I pulled out my large suitcase and opened it. My leg braces were resilient but they still needed maintenance or else they'd fall into disrepair. I began the morning cleaning, tightening screws, and checking on wires and circuit boards. It never ceased to amaze me how slim my final leg exoskeleton were. I could wear jeans and they were so slim that you wouldn't notice them. They were my life and I needed to take care of them. All that maintenance took up the time until the stores began to open.

Repacking my the rather large case that held all my gear I initiated its follow sequence, it's automatic system program that would make it follow me wherever I went. I threw my backpack over my shoulder and went back out onto the street, my Grimm following me faithfully.

As I walked along the street the people that passed by were noticeably disturbed by my pets. I heard whispers of Grimm and small shrieks but they left me alone for the most part.

"Maybe you are the reason I can't get a good job," I said looking at Basher who just stared back at me stupidly. "Lucky you guys don't have to eat much," I murmured scratching Spira's chin.

Despite not being well fed in the last week or so they had grown quite a bit since I had first rescued them from the facility. Basher was about the size of a medium sized dog and Spira was almost as big as a golden eagle. I genuinely hoped that they didn't become full sized or else that'd be a major problem. Idiotic Bash wouldn't know what to do with his fat butt.

I found a quaint little café a few blocks down the road and stepped inside. The few morning customers' eyes gawked at me before they realized they were staring and quickly averted their gaze. I walked up to the counter to a middle-aged woman.

"Good morn-Oh my Gods," she gasped.

I ignored her and put the Lien bill on the counter. "What can this get me?" I asked wearily.

"Never mind that, are you okay? You look like you should be in school!" she said worriedly.

"Yeah probably should be but I'm not so fortunate as you can see," I chuckled. "So, how much food can that get me? If you don't mind hurrying please."

"Oh, uh let me see," she took the bill and then looked back up to me, my gaze lingering on the glass display of sandwiches, muffins, and treats all lined up in the light.

I guess she was staring at my disheveled state. It had been days since I had a shower and my sleepless nights had left bags under my bloodshot eyes. Hair had begun to grow back over the shaved side of my head faintly obscuring my lark tattoo. All my clothes were ragged, torn, and stained black from sleeping out on the streets. It was a miracle I was standing on my feet.

The lady at the counter picked out a muffin from the display and laid it on a napkin in front of me.

"I'm sorry but you didn't have a lot of money," she said sadly.

"That's fine," I told her with a tiny light of happiness, "anything is better than nothing."

"If you don't mind me asking, when's the last time you ate?" she asked.

"Why do you care?" I snapped, giving the majority of the muffin to Basher and Spira leaving only a bite for myself. That bite I scarfed down ravenously.

"You look rather thin and… like you've been living on the streets."

"Well," I scoffed picking up my things, "I have been. I'm not as lucky as everyone else in the world."

She stared at me for a moment before saying, "Wait here."

The lady disappeared behind the counter for a few moments then returned with a brown paper bag.

"Here. I put as many sandwiches as I could into there," she said.

I thought I was hallucinating because for a moment I felt as warm as when I stared at my photos. My eyes saw orange hair and ears, a sweet smile and caring eyes and then it was gone.

"I can't… I can't take that," what the hell was I saying.

"Yes you can here," she pushed the bag into my hands.

I took the bag in my hands and held it tight, "Th-thank you."

She smiled, "Just… come back here anytime you need food or have Lien. I'll give you whatever I can."

All I could do was nod before turning and heading for the door. I was opening the door when there was a crash behind me and cry of pain. Shooting around I saw that the lady who had helped me clutching her arm. A jug of hot coffee had shattered, burning her badly her arm along with a large gash. I rushed over, going behind the counter and setting down my precious bag of sandwiches.

"Are you okay?" I asked holding her arm.

"Oh, yes, yes I'm fine just the jug shattered," she said painfully.

"Here let me," I said placing my hand over her burn and cut.

"What are you doing?" she asked but I was already focused.

I pulled on the small reserve of energy I had in me. It felt like ages since I had done this but it was like riding a bike. The energy with in me flowed up, rising with me building until it was a warm white ball of heat. I molded it from its raw form, kneading and turning it over until it was more precise like a blanket. Using that blanket I fed it through my arms and hands and let that heat wash over the woman. My arms grew cold as the energy left me and my chest felt heavy.

Opening my eyes I saw her wide eyed staring at me. I released my hands and revealed her perfectly healed arm. It was also apparent that the light from my semblance had also attracted all the other workers and customers.

"I'm… healed. I'm healed, my Gods," she exclaimed examining her arm. "How… How?"

"My semblance," I said weakly, "is to heal others."

"Oh my Gods thank you, thank you! That was amazing! A miracle!" she cried.

"Not a miracle," I murmured, "just my semblance."

The lady pulled away and saw my pale face and limp arms. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Healing is… just… very taxing… I'm going… to sleep now," I said slumping to the side.

Finally, I slept.

* * *

That lady in the café took me in after I woke up from almost a day's rest. They had been freaked out by how long I was asleep but I quickly explained the taxing nature of my healing semblance and how long I hadn't slept. The lady turned out to be the owner of the café and was named Lily. She implored that I take the spare room she had above the business and after much hassling I agreed. I didn't stay there much though, it was too much to rely on them so I'd split my time out on the streets and back there. Lily ended up giving me a job as a cashier at her café. I was horrible at making coffee but turned out to be alright at baking so I usually just stayed behind the register taking orders.

Word about my semblance got around and I had to hide myself from the occasional injured person that came begging for my ability. Lily took the brunt of the crowd and after I showed my ability once on a small sickly child everyone understood how much healing exhausted me. Even the smallest of cuts was still enough to sap me of the energy to stand.

Lily couldn't deny however the increase of business that my popularity and my pet Grimm brought in, although in some cases my pets drove away some customers. I had only been there less than a month and life was levels better than it was living in the alleys. It wasn't enough though.

All the money I didn't spend on food or maintenance for my exoskeleton was drunk in alcohol. My meager paycheck was always disappearing in the liquid I poured into my throat. There wasn't a day that I wasn't drunk and I only just was presentable when I was at work. Nights I would end up in those familiar alleys, suffering in the cold of my loneliness, of my despair, my only company being the empty bottles surrounding me. It got bad when I started to confront customers belligerently for no good reason, forcing Lily to take me off from work. I needed an outlet.

I sat on my bed one morning, flask held teetering in my hand. Empty and half-drunk bottles littered the floor around my bed. The liquor tasted like water as I pressed the flask to my lips and downed the rest of its contents. An aching warmness settled in my stomach as my vision felt shaky.

I sat there silently, the salty trail of my tears marked both my cheeks as I stared at my two photos. Some days I wanted to tear those photos up, burn them until they were ash. It was such tormenting pleasure to stare at them, at her. I would mumble mindlessly to them as if she were alive, as if the photos were video calls that she could talk back to me through. Her voice never reached my ears. The only words I ever heard from her were my own hallucinations. I'd wonder why I even took these, why I bothered to keep them and just ended up crying.

Carefully I slid the pictures back into my backpack and stood from my bed, walking out the door and down the stairs to the street. Being a cashier didn't suit me. Dealing with people was too awkward, too complicated and hard. I couldn't smile and talk like normal people. Years at the facility had taught me a specific set of skills and it was the only things that I was good at. I planned to use them.

Walking down the road people gazed at me still. I wasn't dirty like I was in my first weeks but I was still an oddity with my tattoos and shaved head. Again the Grimm never helped. It was a long walk but I managed to sway my way to my destination, a small security firm in the city I was in. According to the newspaper and their website it was something akin to this city's militia. They were a private company, tiny, but they dealt mainly with bounties posted by the local government. It sounded perfect to me.

I walked in to their lobby, greeted by suits and collared shirts.

"Grimm!" someone shouted pulling out a dust pistol.

Without thinking I leapt forward, knocking his gun up and kneeing him in the gut. I disarmed him and stripped the gun away easily.

"They are my pets!" I yelled at him and then said to the rest of the lobby, "And if anyone else tries to hurt them I won't be so fucking kind!"

The rest of the men in the lobby holstered their weapons but eyed me suspiciously, keeping a close watch.

"That was pretty impressive for a girl," a man said walking up to me.

He was fit, wearing a black suit. His eyes were blue and his black hair was spiked forward.

"That was pretty easy for trained professionals," I retorted, throwing the pistol at him.

He caught it, handing it back to his partner who limped away. "So how can I help you little miss? Are you lost? I think that the-."

"I want a job," I said bluntly.

He looked a bit aghast chuckling, "Haha, I'm sorry missy but this is for adults not teenage girls. We do dangerous work here."

"I know, and that's why I want a fucking job," I said.

The man took a step back, looking at me from top to bottom. He walked around me in a circle making me very uncomfortable as I started to fiddle with one end of my shotgun bag on my back. His lips parted as he began to say something but another man cut him off.

"Hey boss we got a call of Grimm skirting the edge of town. Government officials say 100 Lien for each Grimm we kill!" he yelled excitedly as other began to run around gathering gear.

"Alright let suit up!" he called back then returned to me, grinning. "How about this missy, you survive this little endeavor and I'll put you on the call list for jobs."

"Perfect," I said sweetly, drawing my shotgun from its holster on my back.

Hours later I collapsed onto my back, the fighting finally over. That call they gave us said a small group of Grimm, apparently it was a whole pack of Beowulfs that had been spotted. They had charged us the moment they saw us. I found myself ruefully unaware of how different fighting was in the real world. The simulations and drill were nothing compared to actual Grimm. Basher and Spira saved my life more than once and had taken out their fair share of Grimm. After fighting off my alcohol stupor and shock I managed to hold my own against the horde. I would've killed more Grimm if I wasn't tipsy on alcohol though.

That blue eyed man came to me and looked down, resting a large rifle on his shoulder.

"Well missy, you're alive," he said amazed.

"Yes," I said out of breath, "and I believe you owe me a job and."

"And?"

"And 800 Lien, for the eight Beowulfs I just killed," I said smiling.

"Yes, yes I suppose I do missy," he said helping me to my feet.

I took out my flask from my pocket and downed it in one go. Finally a job that fit me that I could pour myself into. I tried to take another sip from my flask, forgetting that I drained it.

"Damn, need more booze."

* * *

I wanted to die. I wanted to kill myself.

The asphalt felt cold against my knees as I sat there crying. Lily's café was burnt ruin in front of me. It had been weeks working and I had come back from the security firm already feeling like shit. They had fired me after in my drunken rage I had fought them after a mission. The blue eyed boss paid me and promptly kicked my ass out of their office. Then I came back to this. Policemen and Firemen were surrounding the burnt ashes and blackened structure where that café that had saved me once stood. They had told me that it was a botched terrorist attack, that some organization had bombed this place while trying to target some government buildings.

It grinded the already broken pieces of my heart when they had me identify the bodies. Lily, my coworkers, and customers that I had served many times before, their bodies were all burnt into grotesque positions. Their skin was charred black like the Grimm except they didn't disappear. The bodies of my acquaintances lingered on this earth forever frozen in their death.

The rest of the day was a blur. I found myself in a motel room drowning my sorrows in drink. There was bottle after bottle. I puked but kept drinking. My anger flourished as I destroyed everything that I could around me, desks, walls, and lamps, anything I could get my hands on. My pets tried to stop me but I shrugged them off and continued my drunken rage. Somehow my thoughts landed on her and focused my madness.

"I HATE YOU!" I screamed at the photos I had dug up. "I HATE YOU! I WISH YOU WERE DEAD!" I yelled as if she were here. Hell I believed she was actually here. "You shouldn't have stayed! You should've come with me! I could've taken… taken you with me. We could've been together. You didn't have to stay. Everything would be alright if you were here. Everything… would be fine. You'd… you'd make everything all better. You'd know what to do," I said my voice failing.

Screaming in rage and despair I picked up that photo, those eyes staring up at me. I put it in both my hand, gripping it between my fingers ready to tear it. I wanted to rip it into a million pieces so I didn't have to see her face, so I didn't have to remember her, so I could forget all the happiness that she had brought me. Falling to the floor the photo drifted like an autumn leaf until it rested beside me. I couldn't do it, no matter what those photos were all I had left and I just couldn't destroy them.

"She wouldn't like this. She wouldn't like me drinking," I laughed to myself as I cried.

Basher and Spira came over to me, those loyal idiots. Spira pecked the disconnect button on my legs and I let out a weak scream as my braces came off. Basher dragged them away then took my feet with his mouth as Spira held my shoulders gently with her talons. Carefully they raised me onto the bed, pulling the blankets over my body.

"She would make me stop drinking, right Bash, Spira?" I sobbed. "She would take it all away from me and take care of me."

Bash crawled over me and sat in front of my face, licking my face gently while Spira wiggled her way into the crevice of my body.

"I hate you two," I said rather lovingly to them. "All you do is eat my food and frighten people everywhere I go," I laughed.

That stupid little Ursi placed both his front paws on my face, nuzzling into me before flopping on his back to fall asleep. Spira simply tucked her feathers into herself but did something very unexpected.

From within the protective cove of my body she began to sing. It wasn't like her clucks or usual shrill caws but… beautiful, like violin cutting through the silence of an opera house. Her Grimm lullaby filled me up with its notes until I could feel no more than what her voice told me. I didn't need to understand the words, her feelings passed through her song into me like air and water. The world ceased to matter, the sound, and the sights, there was nothing except what Spira told me. Soon I drifted into my dreams, a Grimm voice guiding me through the darkness.

I woke up the next morning to my destroyed motel room. Light peaked through the dusty blinds that covered the windows. My tears had all dried up overnight and an aching headache was brute reminder of yesterday. The enveloping pillows and blankets that trapped me made getting up like climbing a mountain. I didn't want to get up. I wanted to lay in bed and let the world move on without me, just lay there until I died.

Basher appeared in front of me with a photo in his mouth. I instantly knew what photo that was. Damn him. He gently laid her photo out right in front of my face for my eyes to feast on. I stared at her face, the tears welling up underneath my eyes once again. Idiot number one came over and licked my face of all the tears before going back to sit and watch me. Somehow I thought that this was Bash's way of telling me like how Spira sang me her song.

"Okay," I whispered to him and the photo. "I promise, from today on, no more drinking." And so began my hell.

* * *

Basher held the bottle in his maw with a deathly grip while Spira held me down. She used her body and wings to push my chest down while trying to spike her feathers into my sleeves so I couldn't move.

"Basher! Let go! Let go damnit you stupid idiot! I need it! I need this. I can't… I can't go on," I yelled at him as I used my one free hand to hold onto the bottle desperately.

That little Ursa wrenched the bottle from my fingers and tossed it out of the hotel room I was in. I collapsed onto the floor, the shivers taking hold of my body. Spira politely hopped off of me while Basher came back over, licking my face. My whole body quaked as a cold sweat drenched my skin.

It had only been a week and I was ready to give up. My whole body ached and my mind felt so unfocussed. I had given in and finally bought a bottle but my pets found it. They fought me with talon and teeth to make sure none of that alcohol touched my lips. Damn them.

"Please… please Bash, I can't go on. I need to drink. Please, get it back," I pleaded with him. Basher actually began to cry as he held my face with his paws.

Then it started. The nights were hellish. At first they were agony, how raw and clear everything felt without being drunk. It just hurt and that was fine, broken sleep and the shivers. But then the flashbacks and nightmares came. They snuck through the door with the night air and slipped into my mind with ease. Sleep became hell, just closing my eyes I would see blood. My hands would be covered in that dark red ooze. The walls, floor, everything around me would be plastered with red. I'd look down and see the body. Sometimes it would be him, sometimes it would be random faces, and then other days it would be her.

I would scream and scream, trying to run, trying to fight the images as if they were real only to have them torment me more. My mind made them real and they haunted me to no end. I tried to hide, under blankets, the bed, in the corner of rooms desperately trying to get away. None of it every worked and the torture would only end when the hallucinations wanted it to end.

When it got worse the hallucinations and the images I saw would send me in an endless loop. He would appear out of nowhere and attack me. It didn't matter if my leg braces were on, my legs would never work. They'd become limp and I'd be helpless, I couldn't run or escape from him. His fists would beat my face, his feet would break my ribs. The whole time he'd be laughing. The whole time he'd be using her body to brutalize me. That maniacal laugh, that evil smile and wild eyes were burned into my memory.

Thankfully today he didn't come out to use me as his toy. The images of blood flashed in and out of my eyes as I laid in bed. One moment the sheets around me were soaked and I was swimming in a sea of red. I sucked in blood when I tried to breath. Then the next moment the sheets were clean and I could breathe normally again.

It all came to a climax when I saw her. She climbed into bed and held me in her arms until everything felt fine. Just when I was feeling normal again she was gone.

I forced myself up and out of bed, slipping on my leg braces with the usual pain.

"I can't… I can't stay here. I need to get some work," I mumbled to myself.

Basher nuzzled my leg, holding her picture in his maw. I took it from him as he sat beside me, staring at the photo longingly before carefully putting it into my pocket. Grabbing my suitcase I stepped out into the world.

"I love you," I said aloud.

* * *

Packing my bags I pulled Basher out of my backpack for the hundredth time as Spira perched on my armor's case. I had been making a living by doing freelance. The bounties that the city's government issued were all open to me once I got the necessary paperwork out of the way. Soon I began a steady workload with people asking for my services. Plus it was better now that I was sober.

It had been two full months since my last drink. Two full agonizing months past, filled with nightmares, flashbacks, and terror. The torment had slowed down as I began to get a control of myself. They came and went like the pain of putting on my leg braces, quick and sharp but passing much more quickly to my relief. What helped the most was staring at her photo whenever the cravings got unbearable.

Even with the pays from bounties and work I was burning through money too fast for what I had ultimately had planned. I had to do this now or else I was going to be stuck here forever.

One of the flashbacks reminded me of an old promise we had made. It was like I was back at my dinner table in the old dorms, drinking coffee or tea with her just an arm's reach away. She was reading the newspaper and was talking casually about a school that trained Hunters and Huntresses. These people traveled the world, fought battles, kept peace, and killed Grimm. We fantasized back then about becoming Huntresses, not knowing that it would become the thing that would either save me or break me. And so, I packed my things.

I took one last look at the hotel room, mediocre and the same as all the others that I had stayed in before stepping out the door with my things. Spira took to the air while Basher waddled in front of me. The airport was a bustle of people all hurrying to their destination. Airships waiting in their docks, cradled by dock arms or moved away to take off. I grabbed my ticket and went to the terminal, waiting for my ship.

I was headed to Beacon. It would take most of my money, the airship flight, but this was my only option. It would've been what she wanted or told me to do. I had just enough to make it there and apply to attend. My research at the library had told me about their exams and tests. I would have to make it there and train up again to get me into fighting shape but I was more worried about the exams. Those would require training that I wasn't used to. She was always the smart one whereas I was just an idiot. I would have to study my ass off to pass.

The airship docked and everyone began to board. Those freaking workers gave me hell for my pets. I had to put Basher onto a leash which he desperately tried to scratch off his collar. Spira just sat on my head and pecked at anyone who attempted to restrain her. Bash ended up in my arms, squirming but in my arms all the same as I carried him throughout the whole way. My lovely Nevermore sat on the armrest nearest the window, staring out into the open air longingly. She was a bird of flight, through and through. When I rose my stupid little Ursa to the window he shrieked in fear of the height, burying his face in my chest. It made the little girl I was sitting next to laugh gleefully.

"Are those your pets miss?" she asked rather politely.

"Yes. Yes they are," I laughed, "Would you like to meet them?"

"Yes please!" she shrieked in joy.

"Spira, Bash," I said calling to them. Bash looked over slightly, thankful not to be looking outside while Spira hopped onto the armrest besides me and the little girl. "This stunning bird of flight is Spira."

Spira looked at the little girl proudly, opening her wings to their full span and bowing slightly. She was always so regal and ready to please. I swear if she was human she'd be some high class snob

"And this little munchkin," I said pulling Bash's tail, making him yelp and curl up into an armored ball, "is the loyal, and very stupid, Basher." I passed him to the girl in his ball form.

After Basher didn't open up Spira bent over and pecked his armored hide. The little Ursi peeked through his armor seeing a curiously cute face staring back at him. He reached up and licked her, as she giggled, trying to protect herself from his wet tongue.

It was all too familiar and a sharp pain wrenched my chest as I began to see an afterimage of an orange haired girl. I forced my breathing to slow and focused on the world around me. I had to keep my mind anchored to where I was, having a flashback here would be to damaging. My two pets noticed my predicament, sniffing, seeing, hearing, or just using some other Grimm sense to see the chaos of my conscience. Bash quickly kept the girl busy, unraveling and playing with her gently while Spira hopped onto my lap. I began fiddling with my bag all too panicked. Spira helped me get it open and I almost tore out the photo.

"Are you okay?" the little girl asked, seeing my face.

I stared long and hard at the photo, reminding myself where I was, that she wasn't here.

"Yes, yes I'm okay," I muttered, wiping the sweat forming on my brow.

"Who's that? The girl in that picture," she asked, scooting over to peer at the photo.

I stared sideways at the curious little girl. She was so young, so innocent, unaware of the world and simply happy. All the things that plighted me, all the worries that I had, she didn't have any of that. That little girl was a leaf in the wind, following the breeze and living her life happily, concerned with her tiny sphere of influence. She knew naught of heartbreak, or love, or of work and sadness.

"This," I said turning the picture so she could better see, "is… well, a very dear person to me. She helped me through a lot of pain, a lot of rough times. Hehe, she'd hold me when I had nightmares, make me food, just make me smile and laugh. We used to live together and help each other, with… well everything. We made each other… happy."

"Oh, so like a mommy?" the girl said smiling.

"Haha, yes, like a mommy."

"So is she here on the flying ship with you?"

That struck me hard and deep and I had to keep control of the shards of my heart.

"N-no. No little one," I said very saddened. "She stayed behind… where we used to live."

"But, if you made each other happy and she was like your mommy like she's like my mommy then why wouldn't she be here with you?" her innocent question piercing my heart.

"Because," I said stroking Spira's feathery back and holding back the tears, "because… I don't know. I don't know and I asked myself that every day."

The girl's mother returned at that moment and saved me from more questions. Our airship was nearing our destination and I was glad. This little girl was such a blessing but her words shot through me like bullets. It was as if fate was reminding me why I was on this damn airship, of why I was going to Beacon, of why I was so fucked up on the inside.

A floating sensation made my stomach flutter as we descended and the airship docked. I quickly got up before the little girl could say anything and collected my things, departing the airship and into the fresh air. Outside and away I let the tears flow free and drop to the floor. That little girl was too much, too sweet for the likes of me.

I breathed in the Vale air, looking up to see the spires of Beacon Academy stabbing the skyline.

"I'm here. I'm finally here. Andy," I said her name aloud as if it was a word of power to be cringed upon but to give me strength. "I'm finally here Andy."


	2. Chapter 2

"Ah, Miss?"

"Miriage," I pronounced my last name for the lady as I handed her my application form.

The school hall was a mess of people all around my age and from all over the place. I swear every time I saw a set of ears on someone's head it made my heart leap. Faunus weren't all that were here though, there was teenagers from every region of Vale that I could see. It was funny too because for once I wasn't the star of attention because of my rough exterior. There were kids all punked out with piercings and street clothing. Still, none of them had a tattoo as visible as my bird which I rubbed lovingly.

"Okay Miss Miriage, I see you have your applications in order," she said flipping each page.

"So what's next?" I asked, nervously glancing at all the people around me. The crowd was getting on my nerve and making me anxious.

"Well, we'll have the written exam tomorrow to see where everyone is at. Then a few days after that we'll have the practical examinations," she said in a very polite accent, fitting for a core city of Vale. "We have quite a few applicants this year so things will be lively."

"Yeah, lively," I repeated her.

"Oh wait, it says here on your application that you're from Atlas?" she asked causing alarms to sound in my head.

"Y-yes, is that a problem?" I stammered.

"Not at all. It's just that it's so very far away. You must've had to travel a long ways to get here."

"Yeah," I chuckled weakly, "Yeah I did. It was a perilous journey."

"Well we are glad to have you here. I wish you luck with your tests in the coming days," she said smiling.

"Thank you," I said, curtly leaving her desk.

Basher yelped excitedly, jumping on my leg. I shook him off and caused him to go sliding a few feet.

"Get off you dumb idiot. I told you and Spira to wait at the hotel room but oh did you listen? No! You two had to follow me into a school where they train people to hunt Grimm," I said walking through the crowd towards the exit.

The dumb, fat Ursi was waddling backward staring up at me and opening up a path not with his behind but by the sheer terror that white dumbass instilled in all the other applicants. He just yelped happily like nothing was wrong.

"Don't you get it you stupid thing," I said, putting a foot on his face and using his ass to open the door. "You are Grimm. GRIMM! People here kill Grimm. You Grimm. Grimm bad. People no like Grimm. People make Hunters and Huntresses. Hunters and Huntresses kill Grimm. This school makes Hunters and Huntresses. Does that make it through your thick skull?" I said forcefully as we made our way into the market district outside of the school.

Bash just kept smiling, wagging his stupid tail, and barking cheerily.

"Gods why did I even bother saving you," I sighed. "Spira here is the only smart one."

At that Spira came down from the sky and landed on my shoulder, looking regal as ever. She stretched her wings, purposely shoving them into my face before folding them behind her.

"To think I saved you two with Andy," uttering her name aloud made me freeze in place on the sidewalk.

Suddenly I felt very cold even though it was a warm summer day in Vale. My pets sensed my teetering mental state and ran to my aid but I held out a hand to stop them.

"No, I'm fine. It's not a flashback just… memories. Harmless, old memories, of our promise," I said softly remembering that late morning back at the facility.

I continued to walk until we found a nice café where I ordered a cappuccino, a sandwich, and some pastries. Sitting inside next to a large glass window I sipped on my drink while Basher sat in the chair opposite me and Spira perched on the backrest.

"How long has it been?" I asked to no one in particular. "How long has it been since the facility? How long has it been since I met her? Gods it seems like an eternity."

Basher dug into a pastry in front of him as Spira watched the skies outside, probably imagining the wind rustling her feathers.

"I went to the facility when I was 10, maybe 11. Then I met her and then I left just after my birthday at 17 or so. Or was I 16?" I rubbed the shaved side of my head vigorously trying to remember. "Time flew by. Or more like I didn't keep track of it cause of her. So maybe I was sixteen. We've spent almost a year by ourselves and I turned 17. So that makes what? Five years at the facility, tops?" I continued to speak aloud.

Mindlessly I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out her photo. It had a few cringles in it and some wear and tear around the edges but for the most part it was still intact. Her face hadn't changed, hadn't aged a day, still staring up back at me. That small smile that I knew intimately blessed her face.

"I wonder what she's doing now, eh Bash? Maybe she's still at that damn facility. She chose to stay there so she probably is. That dumb fox, never could understand what was going on in her mind," I scoffed. "Hehe, hey Bash," I said scowling, "remember when her underwear was wrapped around your head and you…"

I stopped, a tear numbly running down my cheek.

"What the…" I muttered then realized how much I was rambling. "Stupid fox," I mumbled, shoving the photo back into my jacket pocket. "She's gone. Gone forever. This, becoming a Huntress, it's all for me now," I said firmly to convince myself.

Spira's head turned and looked at me over her shoulder. She sang out only a few Grimm notes, her voice echoing in my head.

 _So why come here then?_

* * *

Cutting through the crowds I escaped the claustrophobia of being around so many people. They were all seething with strife coming out of the Beacon exams like me. Some of them were beaming, probably acing the test and going through it like a breeze. For me and the others it was hellish.

I spent days in the library studying and researching as much as I could about the test but in the end it didn't feel like it helped. Every question seemed like it was in another language altogether. There were some easy ones to start but then they got hard. Things started to ask about kingdom laws, not just from Vale but from all over Remnant. I knew a good handful of the Atlas ones but so many of them seemed like I was just throwing out a guess. Then they started to ask about Grim, species, habits, where they live, how they act, what they eat, how they fight, just everything they could. I tried to think as much about my pets to use as a reference to answer the test. It didn't help too much, they weren't normal Grim. The next section was entirely on fighting, tactics, and the like. I thought it'd be a breeze but they started to delve into teamwork and theory which I had no idea about. I only knew how to fight for myself and by myself.

The last section was by far the hardest. It was a free answer portion devoted all to the test taker's personal life and views. I answered as truthfully as I could but purposely censored some questions. There were things that I wasn't going to tell anyone. Things no one needed to know, except for her. I didn't want to remember or have someone else see what my past was like, how I wasn't a normal teenage girl, and my time at the facility. All my answers left out the facility, my training, and her.

I walked back out on town, enjoying the Vale day. My Grim companions were either back at my hotel room or someone else. It worried me but I knew Spira could take care of herself and was more than able to keep the idiot Basher out of trouble. Still, I got some curious glances for again obvious reasons.

My destination wasn't far but it did take a little while to find. The sign over the shop read 'From Dust til Dawn' beneath it a banner that said 'Newly Reopened'. I stepped inside to see an old man behind the counter, greeting me. Greeting him back I awkwardly walked around the shop, looking for the ammo section. Upon finding it I was amazed at its selection. There were dozens upon dozens of different kinds of dust. Not only that, but there were combinations of your basic dust too! What I had seen as a kid in Atlas and at the facility was nothing compared to the stocked shelves here in Vale. I gleefully perused the shelves, going through pistol, submachine gun, sniper rifle, even cannon sized rounds until I found the correct caliber for my shotgun.

Smiling, I walked back up to the front counter and put a dozen boxes of shotgun shells on it, each box holding 25 shells and each box a different type of dust.

"That will be 600 Lien," the old man croaked.

"600?!" I exclaimed, almost dropping my wallet.

"Yes. It's 50 Lien per box ma'am," he said a little frightened by my sudden yelling.

Despairingly I looked down into my wallet. I only had 800 Lien left. It seemed like a lot but I had to make that last through at least the practical exams, paying for my hotel room and for food not to mention any other emergency that came up. Sadly I took two boxes from the stack of twelve and pushed them towards the old man.

"Just… these two please," I said dejectedly.

He cheerfully took the 100 Lien I gave him and bagged my newly purchased ammo. I wished so much that I could afford all those boxes but I was poor and broke. The two boxes would just have to do for the practical exams and augment my small stash of ammo that I had with me. It would just make fighting or doing whatever I had to do for the tests that much harder. I hoped that all they made me do was fight.

* * *

"Uh, Miss?" said a lady behind the front desk of the government office I had just walked into.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"You're going to have to leave your uhm… pets outside. They aren't allowed inside the building," she said eyeing Basher and Spira.

I sighed. It had been like this every day and almost every place I went to. People just didn't like my pets. They were dumb, idiotic, loyal, lovable, and wrong colored but they still looked like Grimm. Hell if I brought them into the wrong building they might force me to register them as pets. That would be a monster in itself.

"Spira," I said turning to her, "please take the idiot and go wait outside. Somewhere… quiet."

She just huffed a sigh, having to leave her nice human perch. Sometimes I wondered if she thought she owned me or maybe that she cared for me more than I thought. Landing on Basher's back she rode him like a chariot out the front door.

I scowled at the lady as I past her and walked through the maze of hallways.

It turned out that the practical exams were months after the written tests, stretched out due to the overflow of applications. My meager bank called my pocket wouldn't last that long with what I had saved. I had to get back to work and I only knew one way to make money, by taking bounties and contracts.

Here at Vale's government building for its central police, people like me could come in and look up the contracts that they were offering. The main problem was of course the paperwork. I had to have a license to chase bounties officially and have access to the higher paying jobs. That took time to apply for so I was confined to the lower paying jobs and there weren't many. Between the police, the military, Hunters and Huntresses, and all the students at Beacon there were hardly any jobs available.

I went and stood at the holoscreen off to the side of the police headquarters, scrolling through the contracts. There were security jobs, escort jobs, which weren't my thing because they were a long and consuming engagement to get paid. Then there were the various missing item contracts or just plain out contracts from a mystery book, all more suited for a detective. I was looking for specific jobs, the hit jobs, things like going after criminals, Grimm, or the like for reward.

Finally, after about half an hour of searching I found one. A local gang had been terrorizing the citizens of Vale. The report read that they were a new group that had just appeared on the scene and were making an impression with robberies, attacks, a few bank heists and even some kidnappings. It paid for the capture and arrest of any and all gang members with the inclusion of their leader and any stolen goods. The job was perfect. I quickly reserved the contract before anyone else could and recorded the request number, taking it to the police officer sitting at the front desk.

"Here, I want this job," I told him plainly.

"Oh Skye, welcome back, sure just give me a second," he said.

Usually most people would stare back at me aghast or plain out deny me. The thing was that I had been frequenting the station so much that the officers here began to know me, or at least become familiar with my name. After the first couple of jobs they stop trying to derail my efforts seeing that I was capable of taking care of myself.

"Ah another arrest contract eh Skye?" asked the older officer as he came back, handing me a holopad to sign.

I took the paid and scribbled out my signature. "Yeah, it's what I'm good at and I figure, it'll be good practice for Beacon."

"Oh so you finally are going to that school eh? Well congrats. Ya know I woulda gone when I was a kid but my parents didn't like it and the tests were so hard. They really stressed combat schooling and the like. I'm kinda envious of you Skye," he said grinning.

"There's nothing of me you should be envious off," I said, handing him back the holopad and walking out of the station.

My pets were waiting for me outside. They had made friends with some local kids, those idiots, and were playing along with them. I thought I almost heard Spira cackle as they threw the curled up Basher back and forth from each other like a ball. Bash was shrieking with every toss, unable to unravel from his shell from fear. I thanked the kids for looking after my pets before taking them back, Basher tearfully thankful to be saved from his fear of heights.

"Oh shuddap!" I told him, kicking him softly in his armored hide. "We got work to do. You want to eat meat?"

At the word 'meat' Basher stopped whining and looked at me ravenously, licking his lips and drooling instantly.

"Oh good I have your attention you tiny idiot," I laughed.

I pulled out the holopad from the station and scrolled down the page. It listed all known members, their background, and their crimes. Rereading the contract bounty made me cringe, it was only rewarding 500 Lien but at least it was enough to survive for another few weeks. I finally got to what I looking for and found a list of known hideouts. It listed a few clubs they frequented and said their base of operations to be an abandoned warehouse on the edge of town. That would be the place to start.

An hour or so later I sat on a rooftop across the street from the warehouse. The sun was falling from the sky but there was still plenty of daylight left. I decided that going head into the building wasn't the best plan. Sure I could survive it and take out everyone inside easily but the problem was that I needed to arrest them all and the gang leader for the best cash out. The more of them I arrested and the more stolen property I could get returned meant more that I could get paid as a possible bonus. So I sat, gazing at the run down building and taking note of everyone who entered or exited from the building.

Basher had already fell asleep beside me. I picked up his limp body and put him in my lap, the fat ass surprisingly soft. He twitched and squirmed as I pet his belly, probably dreaming about getting bigger or eating more food. Spira yawned as she stood on the roof's edge.

"Hey don't you start that with me you sad excuse for an owl," I laughed.

It was funny, I thought as I let my mind wander from the warehouse. My pets were probably the closest any human being has ever been to Grimm. Hell I was maybe the only person on the planet to know Grimm in this way. Bash and Spira were always seeking warmth. They'd nestle into my body to bathe in the heat from my body but then at other times they'd be protecting me from the cold. Like they preferred being warm but frigid temperatures didn't bother them. Sometimes their bodies would be cold to the touch and then they'd be as warm as a heater. It was almost the same with food, they could eat a mountain or have a single morsel and be fine for a week. Then they had that sixth or seventh sense. I had named in their Grimm Sense. It was almost like clairvoyance or telepathy, they could sense the world around them with unbelievable clarity feeling it rather than seeing or hearing it.

One thing was certain, they were made to survive. Basher might not be as intelligent but still he made up for it in sheer tenacity with how his body was made. I think Spira's charm and brains also made up for his stupidity.

Speaking of the Grimm, she cawed warningly as she tapped her talon on the metal gutter of the roof. I shook myself from my daydream and quickly scanned the street below, spotting the gang leader. He obviously tried to dress, I would say, high class but his scumbag character shone through the khaki pants and dress shirt. His button up rested awkwardly over the back of his belt, a tell-tale sign of a pistol. I watched attentively as he strode into the warehouse, checking up and down the street cautiously.

"Well, at least he's wary," I mumbled, waking up Basher ruefully, "it'll make this a little more challenge and I'll get some more practice in."

I thumbed the keypad on my case, it was coded for my fingerprint and DNA only so no one else could access it. The matte black sides split at the seams, unfolding to reveal a contraption of black steel and armor laying within its lids. I stepped into two flat slots specifically sized for my feet, awakening the slumbering metal beast that I lugged around with me. My combat exoskeleton rose like a zombie from the grave, crawling up my legs and torso. It's inner framework, the guts, motors, and skeleton wrapped around me first. They linked with the leg braces I already had on before latching onto their counterparts that clambered up the backside of my body. The armor followed, pulled up by the framework it was attached to. It covered the metal guts and my own flesh ones snuggly with inches of combat hardened plates. I heard the whine of motorized screws and the snap of locking mechanisms as everything secured into place. Within seconds I was fully encased from head to toe, layers of armor plating protecting me, dozens of sensors enhancing the battlefield, monitors flashing in my eyes, and my weapons at my cold armored fingertips. I was a hulking mass of destruction.

"The Coffin seems to be performing well," I said, using the nickname I had coined for my combat exoskeleton. It seemed fitting as it was a metal prison for my body, a kind of morbid resting place if I ever died in battle.

A clunk resounded from my foot as a flashing light appeared on a side screen next to my visor, showing a flat schematic of my armor and its status. Basher had welcomed my armored self with his usual idiocy, head butting my boot.

"Hey!" I chided him, squatting down to pick up my shotgun. "I can't be like you. I don't have natural armor that grows and sticks to me."

The little Ursi looked up at me confused, tilting his head. Spira just sighed.

"Your back you idiot," I said, tapping one of his black armor plates. When he still didn't get it I picked him up one handed by only one piece of his armor, it obviously part of his skin as he rose up with his legs flailing madly. "See?"

With that I put him down, he instantly went to scratch at the plate I had picked him up by.

"Well, it's time to earn some money," I mumbled to myself.

I leapt down off the five story building I was on. The drop would've broken a normal person's legs instantly. Inside my armor Coffin the joints hummed almost gleefully as they absorbed the shock of my landing, the decaying street crackling under my weight. My legs exploded with force as I jumped again, leaping the two stories up onto the roof of the warehouse. There was the sound of movement inside the warehouse. The helmet of my suit shot out and pieced together over my head on my command. Its thermal sensors showed about a dozen people running about inside the building below me in bright orange, obviously aware of something going on. It didn't matter though because I crashed through a skylight, dropping to the ground with the broken fragments of glass.

The men closest to me shielded their faces from the shards of shattered glass while a few fell onto the ground from the quake of my armored chassis landing on the floor. They mostly looked astonished at some freak of nature, some kind of metal hulk, appearing from the sky. My helmet visor cut through the cloud of dust and debris, outlining targets under a second. Twelve outlines were distinctly listed on my visor. The leader's outline flashed red in my HUD, he was in the depth of the warehouse flanked by two of his goonies.

"Hi boys!" I said in my helmet, my voice projected outside through external speakers on my armor.

Flashes lit up the room as gunfire erupted from all around me. I got to work.

An hour later I stomped into the police headquarters, still encased in my armor, escorting the dozen gang members through the halls. The officer at the desk stared aghast at my armor and then at the bloodied bounties that I had wrangled in. They were all still alive but some had been pretty seriously hurt by some well-placed punches and shots during the firefight. I turned them all in to the officers on duty, standing in the lobby waiting for them to fill out the paperwork and get my paycheck. I didn't bother taking off my armor or sitting, I would've crushed the benches under my weight and taking it off would've been a hassle.

"Uhm, Skye?"  
"Hmmm yeah?" I responded, distracted by the scraps on my armor from the fight.

"Here you go. 600 Lien for you bounty."

"600?!" I exclaimed causing the officer to jump. It was somewhat intimidating when I got mad and was dressed in layers of metal. "But what about the other eleven gang members I brought in and all their stolen goods at the warehouse?!"

"W-well Skye, it only adds up to 600 because you aren't a licensed bounty hunter," he stammered.

"Fine," I said taking the small wade of bills from the man.

I stalked out of the police headquarters seething. The pay was enough for another few weeks but I was expecting more. Living in Vale was becoming a real pain in the ass.

The groups of people lingering in the twilight outside parted in front of my armor, fearing becoming pancakes under my feet.

"Alright Basher, Spira. Appears we'll get to eat for…" my voice trailed off as a flashback overcame my vision.

I saw her orange hair topped with those two pointed ears. She was walking away from me. She looked, felt so real I couldn't believe my eyes.

"A-Andy!" I shouted and as she turned her hair shrouded her eyes but her sweet smile burst through.

Then in a second, she was gone, faded into the crowd.

"Bash, Spira, let's go," I mumbled.

* * *

I shot awake in my hotel bed, a cold sweat covering my body. Throwing the covers off me, and Basher too in the process, I tried to get up only to realize that I had taken off my leg braces. I could feel the oncoming attack in my mind. It was only inches away from breaking me. I tried to get to my bag and my things to calm down but it was too late.

Tonight my worst flashback came to haunt me.

He used her hands and held me down with minimal strength, my legs useless without my braces on. I tried to shield my face as he rained down fists. I felt my bones break and my body bruise as he kept punching my helpless form. All the time I heard him laugh with her laugh.

Somehow I managed to roll off my bed, still feeling the storm of hits battering my back. I crawled over to my bag, fumbling with the zipper to get it open. It tore apart and flung items everywhere as I frantically tried to search it. Finally I found my flask filled with liquor.

I dragged myself to the nearest wall and sat myself up against it. My body trembled, still hearing him laugh and seeing him. Somehow I managed to uncap the flask's top with my shaking fingers, the strong aroma of my alcohol stinging my nose.

As I was about to raise it to my lips and dump its contents into my stomach Basher ran out from under the sheets that I had thrown onto the floor. He tackled my stomach making me grunt before he threw his fat butt onto my arm.

"Basher… you idiot!" I screamed frantically trying to shake him off my arm, alcohol sloshing everywhere. "Let go! Let go!"

He wouldn't though and kept his paws on my wrist. Spira swooped in then and took the flask in her talons, snatching it out of my hand.

"Spira you dumb… duck!" I shrieked as the second wave of flashbacks began to hit, painting the walls and floor around me in blood. "No… No! Stop it! Help! Help!"

I fell onto the floor and wrapped my arms around me, shaking uncontrollably. Basher wept as he crawled into my arms and began to lick my tear ridden face. Spira returned and wrapped us all in her wings, her Grimm lullaby quickly filling my ears. I laid like that in the middle of the night for a long time before the flashback slowly faded.

Drying my tears I pet a weeping Basher, "Hey Bash, I'm okay. I'm okay." I said it more to reassure myself if anything.

Spira cawed then, tucking her wings back behind her and she hopped to stand in front of me.

"Spira, I didn't forget about you," I said scratching her chin, "thank you for you lullaby. It always helps. Can you guys grab my leg braces please?"

They both obliged and brought me my braces which with a yell I attached to my legs. Stretching them out I went to wear my flask laid and picked it up and capped it. It had been months since I had had a drink. The flashback tonight was so terrorizing that I couldn't think of anything except alcohol to ease my pain. Until tonight I hadn't had a flashback like that in a handful of weeks. It was unnerving how it all hit me at once.

Basher came up and rubbed against my leg as Spira landed on my shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah guys… I'm okay. Sorry for waking you up and everything. Ugh and I needed a good night's rest for the tests tomorrow," I sighed rubbing my face.

Tomorrow, or today if it was past midnight already, was the practical tests for Beacon. From what I had gleaned at the library and asking around it involved more combat and skills related tests. Unlike the exams I was excited for this and had tuned my armor and cleaned my shotgun the day before. I had been training for the past couple weeks, using the odd freelance jobs that the police gave out as practice while also earning some cash.

I needed to sleep but I didn't feel like trying after that ordeal. Double checking all my gear only took a minute so I put on some coffee while I fished out a couple pieces of raw meat to feed my pets. As they devoured their treats I flopped onto the bed, my hair fanning out behind me along with my arms.

"I guess I just grew a little too comfortable with all… this," I said to no one in particular. "The work, the tests, living, I must've gotten used to it all. Of course the stupid flashbacks come to remind me of…" my voice trailed off as I shuddered, remembering the attack and the reasons why. "Ugh… I need to get some fresh air," I mumbled, getting up and putting on my clothes.

As I grabbed my jacket and opened the door I asked over my shoulder, "You two coming?"

With one big gulp, both my pets finished their pieces of meat. Basher ran over, specks of his food stuck in his teeth and around his mouth.

"Bash. Clean your mouth."

We walked out of my hotel room and into the night, Bash hobbling along as he cleaned his maw with one paw. He ran into a few walls and corners, that idiot not paying attention.

It was still dark outside. The sky hadn't began to turn its purplish black, a sign that the sun was about to broach the horizon. Vale was kept alight despite that by ornate lanterns and street lamps that hung off curved arms from buildings or street poles. They gave the roads a warm feel but made the shadows into ghastly shapes. Those didn't bother me though, I had more nightmarish things to haunt me.

I roamed around aimlessly with no destination in mind. I was familiar with this part of the city for it had been the area that I had stayed in for the past few months. The stores, cafes, and restaurants knew me after I frequented them so much. It was hard to mistake a girl with a shaved head, tattoos, and two very Grim-like pets that followed her around constantly. Naturally they took a while to warm up to me, something that I was still awkward with. Interacting with other people was never really my strong point. I was used to scientist and guards who didn't care about me and then… and then… my one and only fox eared friend.

Instantly I felt taken away by images and thoughts of the facility and her. They blanketed my senses, especially my vision as I relived pleasant memories. Immersed in them so much I ran into a street pole.

"Ow! Ah, gods that hurt! Now I know what that feels like Basher," I hissed as he cocked his head up at me. "Yes you, idiot," I gave him a nudge with my foot.

Spira landed on my head and pecked at me with her beak.

"Hey! Knock that off," I scowled shaking my head so that she had to spread her wings for balance. "You know how sharp your damn beak is?"

I turned and walked over to a nearby store, using its window as a mirror. In the iridescent orange light that emanated from the lamps I could clearly see myself. The girl before me looked rough, almost punkish but a hell of a lot better than the one who first ran away from the facility. Her jet black hair rushed down like a waterfall over her right side, streaming past her shoulder. The other side of her head was freshly shaved revealing that lark tattoo that was suspended in a perpetual dive toward her collarbone. Green glinting eyes stared back at me through dark slits of eyes. Despite my outlandish look I wasn't that poor beggar with overgrown and greasy hair nor with torn and holed clothes.

The girl in my reflection smiled back at me awkward as I rubbed the shaved side of my head, my little habit.

"Hello Skye," I said to my reflection, Spira studying me from her perch on my head while Basher was snarling at his own image.

Reaching up to pet my Nevermore I mumbled without thinking, "What would she say n-…"

The rest of my words were lost as my eyes focused beyond my mirror image and saw the display before me. Lined in tiered rows, like miniature steps that lead up to nowhere, were rings of all kinds. They were silver and gold and dark colored rings whose metal I couldn't name. Some had jewels or diamonds of varying sizes, as small as a grain of sand or as large and gaudy as a coin.

I chuckled to myself, "Why would anyone every want to buy one of these things?"

When I my eyes trailed up to the sign above the rings I froze.

"W-w-w-wedding bands?!"

I stood there frozen with my hands pressed against the glass and yet, I felt my face burning with heat and my insides squirming with fire. Numbly reaching inside my jacket pocket I extracted her picture which I always carried on me. Her orange hair framed her smiling face and her orange fox ears were like candles and toppings on a cake.

"Ahem…" I coughed rather forcefully, remembering all the times I had munched on them before to her dislike. But then the burning of my cheeks flared up as I glanced back up from her photo to the rings. My heart throbbed in my chest as the thoughts and images that were flashing through my head. Beginning to feel a tingle in my toes and fingers I snapped around so I faced the empty street, trying to catch the breath that had escaped me.

With the… strange images faded from my mind I slowly wheeled back around. Glancing very closely at the rings I read one of the price tags.

"That much Lien for a little ring?!" I exclaimed, quickly moving down the lines of rings to check other prices. "Oh dear… Wait… What the hell am I doing?" I asked myself, pushing away from the window display. "Why would I even imagine… No it isn't even possible… Hehe, who the hell knows where she is or… or… or even where she is right now! Ha! That's right! It's not like…. It's not like I'm ever… going… to see her… ever… again…" with that admittance I began to feel heavy with despair. "Not like she would even say… say… Argggghhh gods!" I said throwing up my hands and turning to trudge down the street back to my hotel room.

I went to shove my hands into my pockets but stopped before I crinkled the photo I still held in my hands. Staring at that face held me in place and with a confused and unexplainable reluctance I went back to the shop window. Scanning once more I looked for the cheapest ring.

Far to the right side of the window, almost hidden by the shadow of the window's edge was a small ring. It was a shining silver, devoid of diamonds and most of the other extravagant decorations of the other rings. Its only distinguishing feature was how it was engraved and weaved to look like two vines wrapping around each other. The edges of the ring were curved, following the waves of the vines giving it a unique form. Craning my head so I could see the tag that was laid inside the ring I cringed.

"1,000 Lien…"

Thinking about how much I had saved currently and what I made from various jobs and bounties I did each week my hopes dropped.

"I would have to starve and sleep in the streets again unless I could find a way to make more money…"

A loud and long yawn that sounded like a growl emanated from beside me. Basher flopped onto the ground, instantly asleep. Sighing I picked up his limp form and tried to roll him into his armored ball to no avail. I threw his large butt over my shoulder, his body unconsciously latching onto me with a gentle touch so his claws wouldn't pierce my skin. Spira stayed on my head as I turned away from the store finally.

"Maybe…" I mumbled as I walked back to my hotel.


	3. Chapter 3

"Next!" a rather frightening looking women who had called herself Ms. Goodwitch called.

She was dressed in a slim black skirt with a white blouse and a purple and black cape. Slid into one of her thigh high black leather boots was what looking like a riding crop. In her hands was a transparent scroll that she studied voraciously through her glasses. All in all, she was quiet unnerving especially in how she reminded me of some certain scientists back at the Atlas facility.

A stuttering boy step up in front of me, mumbling his name. Ms. Goodwitch glanced at him annoyingly before growling a command to speak louder. The boy leapt in his skin, making me chuckle, and could say no more despite the sputtering of sounds escaping his mouth. Even more grumpily, Ms. Goodwitch scrolled through a list of photos and matched him with one.

"Mr. Lesse," she announced as he violently nodded his head. "Proceed."

He stumbled off through a door into one of the side buildings that was on the Beacon campus, beside it a sign that said 'male.'

"Next!" Ms. Goodwitch's voice barked, shattering my thoughts.

I took a step up and stopped, staring up into her spectacles.

"Name."

"Skye."

"Skye what?" she asked.

"Miriage. Skye Miriage," I said hesitantly.

I saw through her scroll as she paged down to the 'm' names and matched my face with an archived photo I took when I first applied. She checked a box next to my name and I was about to step forward before she stopped me with a question.

"From Atlas?" she lowered her scroll and peered over the rims of her glasses.

"Y-yes?" I stuttered. "Is there a problem?"

"It's rare that we see applicants from so far away," her toned hinted at a bit of suspicion.

"I… I wanted to become a Huntress," I replied, trying not to fidget or rub the shaved side of my head.

"Furthermore… you dress rather extravagant for someone from that region."

That irritated me more than anything. "I'm not the poster-child of Atlas and…" I hesitated before I spoke of my past life, "my youth wasn't like everyone elses."

Her piercing eyes took one last glance into my eyes before she returned to her scroll.

"Obviously," she stated, "Proceed."

With a sigh of relief I stepped forward and through the door marked for females. Inside was a large lobby with a main desk and hallways leading to other rooms. People in white uniforms and coats scurried about and made me freeze. It was too similar to the facility.

I felt the panic creep up from deep within me and seize control of my brain. My breathing became labored and my skin became damp with a cold sweat. Black closed in around my vision as reality and memories began to meld together. Somehow I managed a step back until a nurse called out.

"Are you okay miss?" she asked.

My head turned to her as if on a rusty gear and I looked at her with a frightened face.

I kept expecting Basher of Spira to come to my rescue but I had left them at the hotel. I didn't want to risk them in front of Huntresses and Hunters or the students training to become them, not on the campus. All I had was my case of armor behind me that was set to follow. There was no one to save me, no one who knew how to calm me down, and no one who knew about the picture in my pocket that could make this all end.

"Are you an applicant to become a Huntress?" the nurse asked.

At her words a hundred photos flashed through my eyes. Memories of a different time and a different place, sitting at a table with an orange haired girl in front of me asking if I wanted to become a Huntress. It brought me back to reality strangely.

"Yes," I finally was able to say.

"Oh good," she said, "here follow me."

I followed her down one of the hallways past other rooms where other applicants entered or exited until she found an empty one.

"Wait here."

"For what? I thought today was a combat test?" I asked as I entered the room.

"Yes it is, but before that we also must do a medical check up to ensure that you are fit, healthy, and able," she told me. "Just make yourself comfortable, someone will be by soon," with that she left.

It still unnerved me being in her but I focused on thoughts of that girl so that I wouldn't fall to my flashbacks again. It was a short while until a woman wearing a doctor's coat stepped into the room.

"Hello Miss?" she asked.

"Skye," I said a little shocked, the panic again batting against my mind.

"Are you alright?" she asked, noticing my apprehension.

"Uh… yeah, I just… don't do well around doctors," I told a part truth.

"Oh don't worry. There won't be any needles or prodding or poking if that's what you're worried about," she reassured me. "This is just a little check-up before I let you off to you assessment."

"Ah, okay," I replied.

"Well this will be quick, if you'll remove your clothes please. You can keep your undergarments on."

I hesitated again. They had done this before at this before at the facility and usually what followed wasn't pleasant. In my mind I repeated the same lines to keep me calm. _Become a Huntress. Do it for her. Become a Huntress. Do it for her._

With that in mind I nervously stripped out of my jacket, tank top, and jeans, leaving on my black bra and panties. What was worse was that my leg braces were showing, making me even more self-conscious.

The doctor looked up from her notes and said, "Well let's see what we have. Oh." She stopped upon seeing my leg braces. Rolling her chair closer so she could inspect the slim harnesses that were clamped around my leg she hummed. "If I may ask, what are these?"

"They're… my leg braces," I said, not knowing how to explain about my situation.

"May I?" she asked and I nodded, letting her touch and examine where the arms clamped around my leg and connected to my spine. "What do they do? Are they just for support?"

"No, uhm…" I paused not wanting this to set me back but there was no way around it. "They let me walk."

"Let you?" she finely picked at the words I used. "To what extent?"

I sighed and groaned, "Without them I can't use my legs. I'm a para… parapa… paraple…"

"Paraplegic?"

I quietly nodded.

She picked up her scroll again and tapped rapidly, beginning to interrogate me about my legs, braces, and how I was injured. Reluctantly I answered her queries, telling her about the Grimm in my town when I was little and select aspects of how the Atlas scientist developed my braces. Then she asked me to do a few motions to demonstrate my range of movement and ability of my legs, taking notes the whole time. I cursed myself for admitting my weakness.

"Alright, thank you for that Ms. Skye," she said laying her scroll on her lap. "Now can you please take off your braces for the rest of this examination?"

"What?!" I shouted by accident.

She didn't seemed fazed and only repeated herself, "Please remove your leg braces."

I stared at her in disbelief for a minute, not muttering a word.

"Is there a problem?"

"I… I…"

"We can't continue unless I do a full check-up and to finish I need you to remove your leg braces."

"Okay…" I whispered, barely audible.

I went over to my armor case and cracked open the top. For a moment I stared maliciously at the folded device that sat atop my things. Begrudgingly I took it out and unfolded it until my wheelchair locked itself. The whole time the woman watching me.

"You might want to cover your ears," I said as my hand hovered over the disconnect switch.

"Why?" her eyes darted from the wheelchair to me.

I gave her a half-hearted smile and released my leg braces. My scream tore through the room and echoed in the halls as the agony of disconnecting my braces from my nerves wracked my body. I collapsed into a useless pile on the floor as I saw nurses rush into the room. They along with the doctor rushed to my aide but I held a hand up to stop them.

"I'm fine," I said after I took a breath. "Disconnecting my leg braces is… painful. The shock of attaching and detaching them from my spine and nerves are almost unbearable."

I crawled over to my wheelchair and began to pull myself up. They tried to help me but I shook them off, all but one backed off. The one held onto my wheelchair for me. After they had ensured I wasn't in any more trouble they were shooed off by me and the doctor.

She sat back in her chair and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, trying to regain her composure which I had obviously shattered.

"And this happens…"

"Every time," I replied.

"They couldn't do anything about it?" her worried gaze made me chuckle.

"To my knowledge no."

"Atlas prosthetics are far more advanced than Vale's… If they couldn't… Well that's beyond the point. What's the extent of your paralysis?" she asked.

"I can't feel anything from the waist down. My braces give me feeling and the use of my legs back while amplifying their strength," I sighed.

Internally I had given up. This was it, the nail in my coffin. Now that I had revealed the extent of my injury and my… _disability_ , there was no way I was going to advance farther than this. I had failed.

Regardless of my thoughts, she continued the examination without further questioning of my legs. I was scanned head to toe, a light shined in my eyes, my nose and ears were inspected, just about every aspect of my body was checked. The exam ended a short while later as she finished up her annotation in my profile.

"Alright Ms. Skye, I'm pleased to say that you're in perfect health," she finally said cheerily. "You're free to go on to the rest of your examinations today."

I was astounded.

"What?" I uttered. "You're letting me pass?"

"Yes, there is nothing wrong with you. Ah, are you worried about your legs?" she grinned at me as I nodded. "Haha, I'll admit you're a special case, probably the first paralysis applicant I've seen but not the first with a condition. Many come with varying problems, chronic diseases, disabilities, or any other sort of problem you could imagine. None of that however disqualifies them for the exams," she explained.

"But I don't understand. I can't walk without my leg braces, I'd be dead meat without them!"

Again she chuckled, "We don't care what you can't do Skye. What we care about is what you _can_ do. As long as you have what it takes to pass, to never give up, to fight and become a Hunter or Huntress, who are we to deny you before you've had a chance to prove yourself."

Words failed me once again.

The doctor go up and put a hand on my shoulder as I sat in my wheelchair. "You've made it this far. That tells me in itself that you are strong no matter what state your body is currently in. That's more than I need but I think you have a few more tricks in that case of yours so as I said before. Ms. Skye, you may continue," she smiled once again.

"Thank you," I murmured still in shock.

As I rolled myself over to my leg braces and prepared to lift myself into their embrace I heard her walk over to me.

"Oh and Skye, take this," she had taken a plastic mouthpiece from one of the drawers in the room. "It'll stop you from biting through your tongue and make things… quieter."

With another thanks I took the mouthpiece from her and she left me to get dressed.

"One step closer Andy," I told myself.

* * *

Sitting in what I guess served as a locker room I double checked all my gear. Everything was prepared but habit and my nerves made me recheck everything. All the other applicants were doing the same. They were pulling their weapons out of protective cases, donning armor or the outfits they wore into a fight, practicing moves or form, or conversing with other applicants. I had elected to sit on a bench to myself. Kids were sharing where they were from or examining each other's weapons and setups. Their conversations sounded cheerful albeit nervous. The close quarters combined with the amount of us they stuck in her bothered me though so I kept to my own business.

I was hesitant to strip and change into my combat gear but took a deep breath and got on with the task, trying to block out everyone around me. Sticking my clothes into a locker I slipped on the body suit that I generally wore under my armored chassis. It was a two piece, trouser and top set that was black almost rubber like material that hugged my skin. There were connection ports for where the exoskeleton I fought with attached, monitoring my body and translating nerve impulses into actions. Likewise, it kept open slits for the sides of my leg braces so they could also link with my armor.

With that done I thumbed the fingerprint and DNA scan on my case and it opened, metallic whines announced the awakening of my sleeping beast. Instead of attending it though I pulled out my shotgun from a holster inside, giving it a once over. I did a functions check to make sure internally it would still fire, checked that the sights that I would use to aim were tight and set, made sure the insides were properly oiled, and finally loaded with a full clip of shells. My shotgun was unique, the Atlas scientist specifically developed it for me and my armor. It had a folding and adjustable stock, used magazine for ammo, a holographic sight, and the best part was that it used dust ammunition. The most notable thing was it was oversized like a small cannon or mortar, I could manage it normally but it mass was tailored for when I used it inside my exoskeleton.

"Klaka, hope you're ready for some work today. I could definitely use all the help I could get," I said to it. "And now," I said gazing down at the beast that slept in my case.

Placing one foot at a time into the only flat spots inside the case, I stepped into my armored exoskeleton. Recognizing the pressure of my feet it pulsed to life, closing over my feet and latching onto the connections around my ankles. Crawling onto my body like a shadow cast by the setting sun, my armor attached itself to my calves and thighs like a hungry animal. It whined and clicked as it attached to my leg braces, screwing mechanical muscles over my fleshy ones and latching thick armor over that. The beast stood up and covered my torso, arms, and finally my neck until I was locked tight inside seemingly impenetrable armor.

"Good Afternoon. How are you doing my Coffin?" I said with a hint of delight, referring to my exoskeleton with the nickname I had coined for it.

"User identified, Skye Miriage," it said back to me in a robotic voice, "Command unknown. Please rephrase."

I sighed, wishing the scientist had given my armor more of a personality.

"Disregard prior command. Run diagnostic check," I said.

As the Coffin did a rundown of all the systems in it I noticed that many eyes were now staring aghast at me. Surely there were some outlandish outfits and astonishing weapons amongst the many kids here but I guess my armor took the cake. It did make me six feet tall, added a couple hundred pounds of armor and machine, and was jet black only exposing my head since my helmet wasn't on. I chuckled imagining the awe struck face of any one of them if we had to fight. They'd think I'd be a stationary, slow target but then they'd be in for a deathly surprise.

"Diagnostic scan complete," the Coffin told me. "All system green and operating at optimal settings. Neural connection ports to occupant all green. Strength at 95%."

I scowled, skimming through the scrolling data that a display around my neck showed. 95% was good but it also told me things were a little off. I'd have to tune up the connectors when I had a chance and also work on the neural links. However, it was more than enough to do whatever they had in store. I hoped.

I wanted to sit but none of the benches would've held the massive weight of my exoskeleton, plus taking it off again would be a hassle. Trying to be polite as I could I made my way through the groups of other applicants. I didn't have to try too hard, the thud of each step I took alerted everyone to me and the imposing figure of my armor pretty much cleared me a path. Finding a wall that was sturdy enough I gently leaned back against it, reviewing scenarios in my mind and the drills in case my shotgun or armor failed me. Above all else though I tried to calm my mind.

A little while later, after a few more girls had come into the locker room, Ms. Goodwitch's voice blared over an intercom.

"Attention, all Beacon applicants will report to the testing grounds for their combat evaluations. I repeat, all Beacon applicants will report to the testing grounds for their combat evaluations," her voice said.

The room erupted in a beehive of chaos. People made last minute adjustments to their gear, threw unneeded items away into lockers, and fought against the crowd shuffling to the doors. I deliberately waited until most had gone through and then followed, crouching low under the doorway and watching out not to bump into anyone. As I meandered through the hallway with the crowd, trusting that they knew the way, I listened to snippets of what everyone was saying.

"-make us fight Grimm!"

"We just applied. That wouldn't be safe!"

"I heard we'd all have to fight it out and the last standing get to-."

"Ridiculous."

"-you think that my outfit matches my weapon."

"I'm gonna go this way and feint that way and then strike at the-."

Sighing it bored me how immature some of the kids here were. From the sounds of things they had no real experience, spending all their time in school or fighting simulations. They weren't like me, not thrown into the garbage of the world and forced to survive. None of them had face actual Grimm before from the sounds of it. The thought comforted me, it was an advantage I had over them all. I would use everything I had to excel at these exams to make up for my shortcomings at the written portion.

The path lead outside to the Beacon campus where we soon found ourselves in a massive training grounds. There were obstacle courses, shooting ranges, sparring arenas, simulators, and so much more. It almost reminded me of back at the facility although it seemed like the technology wasn't quite as advanced. Everyone milled about, the boys and girls, waiting for the next instruction.

It was few minutes before Ms. Goodwitch came out accompanied with another man in a green and black suit. He had white-gray hair but looked surprisingly young. Despite his slim build and his spectacles that rested low on his nose he was quite drab.

"Applicants," he said with a calm yet projecting voice. "Congratulations on making it this far on your journeys. You have weathered fierce training to be here and now we will see the results of your efforts and…" he paused and I thought his gaze lingered on me, "sacrifices."

With that address he backed away and Ms. Goodwitch stepped forward, taking control of the bumbling group of children. She organized everyone quickly in order according to her scroll, separating them into different groups.

"Now," she said, "we will test your practical combat skills. The first test will be a strength test and obstacle course. Next will be a weapons proficiency test with your preferred weapon of choice. Lastly, your final examination will consist of a match first between you and a Grimm."

I grinned, so far everything sounded easy. As she walked off to observe the tests from the side other teachers came and took over. I watched while waiting in line, seeing kids breeze through or stumble with the obstacle course. Some were physically astounding in their strength tests, others looked like they relied heavily on their armor or weapons and didn't do too well. There were a good couple that looked like their gear were more of a nuisance. The other two tests were happening where I couldn't see so I couldn't see any of them.

Just before I was about to head over to do my first test I was stopped by one of the teachers.

"Miss, the first test doesn't allow any augmentations," he said.

"What?" I said, completely focused on the test.

"Your suit Miss, you'll have to remove it for the first test."

"But other students got to wear their armor through!" I exclaimed, feeling cheated.

"Yes but this test is to test what you can do unassisted and plus their armor isn't so…" he paused, grasping for a word to describe my Coffin.

With a heave I disengaged the suit, leaving it in the 'ready' mode. The back unlatched and folded neatly behind me at the ankles while the front stayed standing, ready for me to step into.

As I stepped out and stretched out I heard someone whisper behind me, "Told you there was a person inside there. It's a girl to boot!"

I ignored them as I began my exam. Even without my exoskeleton the exercises were a breeze. Training at the facility, work, and dealing with two Grimm constantly had tempered my body into iron. I excelled and beat most of the other kids at the exercises but my real strength came when they wanted me to run for time. Due to the augmentations they didn't make me take off, namingly my leg braces, I could run faster than anyone else and again with a few exceptions the longest. The obstacle course was a joke. Back in Atlas they had made me do courses that were ten times harder than the one Beacon had set up… and ten times more painful…

Once through I got a five minute rest before I had to move on to the next station. I used the time to take a breather and wipe the sweat off my face. Taking a seat I heard a crumple in one of the few pockets lining my combat under-suit. Curiously I reached in and pulled out her photo.

"How in the hell did this get here?" I murmured then thought of the only two idiots who knew about it. "You dumbasses," I smiled as I cursed them, "Thank you."

I taped the photo to the inside of my neck plate, beside the secondary screen that was placed there. I gave her face a soft caress with my thumb as if she were really in front of me before stepping back into my exoskeleton. _All for you,_ I thought as my Coffin tightened around me.

Lumbering over to the next exam I stepped through high protective walls into a shooting range and sparring area. One side was consumed in a long length of flat ground with targets at the far end. From the seams in the ground and walls it appeared like it could be altered into an assortment of environments. The other half of the area were over a dozen partitioned arenas meant for sparring with melee weapons.

"Just like… home?" I said to myself. "More like just like some sort of… weird… torturous… hellish home-ish boot camp. Meh, whatever," I chuckled.

I stepped up to one of the empty lanes on the range where a teacher was waiting.

"Good afternoon, name and weapon of choice?" he asked.

"Skye Miriage, shotgun and uhm…" I paused, not wanting to give away my trump card. My secondary weapon was a secret that I hadn't told anyone. It was my last resort and something I could catch my opponents off guard with. Furthermore it was a highly advanced piece of my arsenal that I didn't want revealed. "Swords," I finally said, telling a half truth.

"Excellent!" he said. "Ah and if I'm not mistaken they are of Atlas build?" he asked enthusiastically.

I jumped in my armor, glad that he couldn't see the surprise of my body through my stoic exterior. "Y-yes, how did you know?"

"I'm obsessed with weapons and gear," he said joyously. "It's my absolute joy to see what all the new applicants bring to Beacon. Every year it's something different, new, and exciting. We see the normal assortment of weapons and the like but they always change with the trend. Lately we've been seeing more and more melee-firearm type weapons. I guess that's the new trend with the preparatory combat schools. Back in my day it was all about how much dust you could project from your weapon."

"A-ah," was all I said.

"Well your weapon types aren't anything we haven't seen before but I am intrigued to see what Atlas has to offer. It has been ages since I've seen their new technology and I've never seen anything like your armor before," he continued.

"R-right," I stammered, "my armor and weapons are… unique… to me that is."

"Of course, of course, ah what am I doing ranting on a tangent like this. Please," he motioned to the range. "First will be a simple shoot on a single target for accuracy. After will be multiple target engagements. Last will be a dynamic shoot with cover involved," he told me, making me a bit uneasy about how complicated the test was becoming. "Do you have any questions?" I shook my head. "Let's begin!"

I took the seconds I had while he selected programs to switch out the shells my shotgun used, also engaging the helmet which slide out from behind me and clamp over my head.. I had a limited amount of dust ammo and intended to save that for the simulation and sparring match. Using regular shells I began my tests, either cutting targets in half or leaving a single hole grouping in them. I kept that up until the targets got farther out, past 100 yards. At that range, due to the nature of my shotgun, accuracy began to steeply drop off no matter how skillful I was or what my exoskeleton targeting systems corrected for. With the limitations of Klaka established I moved into multiple target engagements. A single target or more would pop up at a time and I had to shoot them all down. I didn't miss one, even taking two out with a single spread of a shell at some points. The last test went much the same way although I was disadvantaged by my armor, limiting the amount of cover I could hide behind as I was a gigantic figure. It's not like it mattered, even if I couldn't use cover I was encased in thick armor! I was a walking piece of cover for crying out loud!

"Excellent, excellent!" the teacher said as I finished, reloading my shotgun. "Alright if you will follow me to the sparring arenas we'll see your swordsmanship," he said.

I sighed, stomping after him, despising that I had to use my alternate weapons. Stopping in the center of one of the empty rings. The display inside my helmet and below on the front of my neck plate responded to my eyes and to a limited amount of my thoughts. Through them it already hummed with energy, preparing to initiate my other weapon system. On the neck plate screen the words 'Melee Mode on Standby' flashed again and again, waiting to change my targeting system for something more samurai-esque.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

I nodded but realized such a movement wouldn't be noticeable with my helmet encasing my head and so I spoke, my voice projected externally through speakers. "Yes."

"Begin!" he shouted as he initiated the program.

Targets in the shape of various Grimm began to materialize around me. They would pop up for only a certain amount of time before they disappeared, just like the shooting range except now they could appear anywhere around me. Sighing one last time I let myself grin, breaking my shotgun into two. They morphed into grips that locked around my hands, connecting to port on my gauntlets that would feed them with energy. With a satisfying hum, two purple plasma blades grew from each part of my separated shotgun stopping only when they were three feet long. Each arced like electricity along a metal back spine. The world around me stopped as I felt pairs of eyes linger on me but I didn't care. The joints and artificial muscles of my exoskeleton whined with exuberance as they prepared to unleash another trump card, speed.

I leapt at targets, slicing them with ease. My armor moved with the speed of a fox, a frightening thing considering how quick the massive machine was. The quickness wasn't without control because my plasma swords were precise, able to cut targets as small as a floating petal. All the technicians back at the facility often said I looked like a football player doing the ballet. I showed them as I showed everyone around me how deadly that ballet could be.

At the end of it all I had developed a sweat, despite the cooling system integrated to keep my body temperature as comfortable levels. The burning plasma swords combined with the increased operation of my exoskeleton created considerable heat. I stood in my armor in the center of the arena, a slight wisp of steam drifting from me.

"Display heat levels," I said to my Coffin.

"Displaying," an image of my exoskeleton appeared on my screen with corresponding colors to the temperature. "Detecting increased levels due to Melee Mode. All temperatures within acceptable levels. Occupant's core temperature above average," the robotic voice informed me.

"Initiate cooling purge," I told it.

"Initiating," it said.

At my command, select panels of my armor hinged out like miniature wings. Scalding steam was expelled through the open slots adding to the smoke already wafting through the air. All the heated liquid that filled the internal workings of my armor were forced out into vapor while new coolant was pumped through to replace those lost. Within seconds the suit image turned from a yellow-orange to a cool blue-green while fresh cool atmosphere pressed against my skin.

The teacher waited until the hot steam abated before approaching me. "Fascinating. Absolutely astonishing," he praised studying my armor.

I disengaged my helmet and meet him with my bare face. "Thanks," I said.

"Atlas really has outdone themselves once again. The speed of your armor is unbelievable. And your plasma swords are a new addition as well. Am I correct to assume that the expelling of that steam was a cooling system of some sort?"

"Uh, yeah," I said trying to rub the shaved side of my head. I had mastered the habit while wearing my armor, my gauntleted hand cold against my skin.

"And the energy consumption, it must be enormous?" he continued.

"Uh, if you don't mind, can I move on? I don't like to really talk about…"

"Ah of course, of course. I understand, trade secrets and all. Every warrior must have their secrets. But what I wouldn't give to examine your armor… Anyways, here are your stats," he said, reversing his scroll so I could read what the simulation had recorded. It displayed targets dispatched per minute, accuracy, and various other observations about my fighting style and weaponry. "You've more than achieved the required scores. You may proceed to the next station."

I thanked him and let my shotgun rebuild itself out of my sword, holstering it behind my back before I continued.

"Oh, you may have to wait a while for the last test. There is limited room. Feel free to rest and watch," he informed me.

Again I expressed my thanks and headed over to the last exam. It was in an arena like area that had seating on an elevated ring around it. In the middle was a wide open circle of space but with the simulator it could be made to resemble anything you could imagine. It could also produce any opponent you could imagine as well, given you had enough information. This was the one piece of technology I had seen so far that matched the stuff they had back at the Atlas facility. I went over to another teacher and gave her my name so that she could add me to the waiting list then climbed the stairs into the bleachers.

My lumbering hulk and the thuds of my footsteps made many faces turn and gasp at me before returning to the match at hand. I glanced around seeing many nervous faces, many confident ones too, but all of them were quite messy from the exertions of the exams. A lot seemed tired and I admit I was feeling thirsty and hungry too.

"Ugh I don't want to take off my armor… but it would be more comfortable… I could use some food… arrrggghhhh!" I argued with myself as I met the gaze of the girl in my photo. "She would have made me food…" I sighed.

After checking my name on a list that they displayed on a large screen hung above the arena I decided to step out, gauging that I had a good while before it was my turn. The Coffin released me reluctantly and I stepped out into the nice breeze of Beacon. Again more whispers and murmurs erupted around as people saw the person who was inside the armor. I cursed myself, wishing that I had thought ahead. I didn't even have water. My armor would've had a survival supply or at least water and food for a few days of operations but I hadn't stocked it in age being broke and all that.

"Hey Coffin," I said.

"Awaiting commands."

"Really should change the title options on you," I said aloud.

"Affirmative, awaiting new designation for Skye Miriage."

"Now there's a tempting though. Disregard prior command," I said in a louder voice, "initiate sentry mode. Deadly force disabled."

"Affirmative."

With that I left my armor standing in an open aisle. I walked around the arena seeing if there were any stands. To my luck I found a couple stands on the highest tier behind all the bleachers and seats. It seems that some of the student clubs had come out to make some money as well as watch the matches. I pulled out the little bit of cash I had left and bought a bottle of water and a large sandwich filled with meat. Both I scarfed down ravenously, returning to where my armor stood. Instead of taking a seat on the bleachers I climbed onto my exoskeleton and sat on one of its boulder like shoulders, taking the time to catch my breath and put my hair into a neater mess.

The small crowd of finished and waiting applicants erupted with cheers, making me immediately see what happened down below. A boy had fallen onto his back, a large Beowulf stalking him. He was fumbling for his weapon, a large spear at his side, unable to take his eyes off from the approaching Grimm.

"You idiot," I murmured to myself, shifting on top of my armor into a more comfortable position.

Moments before the Grimm's claws eviscerated the frozen boy the simulation stopped and faded from existence. Teacher jogged out to check and the boy, escorting him out while another person took his place.

"Looks pretty easy," I said. "Too bad I don't have Bash or Spira here. They'd do half the work for me… or I could use Bash as a distraction…" I continued to play out imaginary battles in my head while the next fight began.

The next fighter looked pretty confident, but I didn't like how flashy his armor and gear was. He flaunted around his weapon, a two-handed axe, with obvious flare. It all pissed me off.

"Fighting isn't about looking the best," I growled to myself.

As the match begun another Beowulf appeared and charge him. He flung around his axe, smashing it into the Grimm's face. While the rest of the onlookers cheered I scowled, I could tell that he let the weight of his weapon control his movements. It was sloppy and he was open for attack, trying to fight the swing of his axe. He was all show, no skill, and I guessed he relied more on the prowess of his weapon and gear than his own ability. In the end he won the match but he doubled over, leaning on his axe obviously out of breath.

I sighed, relented to lazing about atop my armor. My mind drifted back to that quiet morning, in our old apartment. Andy was reading the newspaper and me watching her. We talked about Beacon and here I was. I was so close. All I had to do was make it through this last test and hope they accepted me. If they didn't… I shuddered. If they didn't I didn't know what I would do. What could I do, continue on making a meager living by bounties? It was a despairing thought. I had to pass, I had to making it in or else… I'd have nothing else.

"Gods damnit," I said shaking my head vigorously. I couldn't afford to think like this. "But… it's the truth," I mumbled.

"Skye Miriage," Ms. Goodwitch's voice boomed over a loud speaker, "report to the arena for your examination."

That shocked my nerves back into place and I shot my head up, realizing it was already my turn. Sliding off my armor I stepped into it, the folded backside quickly enveloping me. My screens lit up and status monitors came to life and I steeled my resolve. Instead of going through the entrance at the bottom floor, which I doubt I could fit through, I leapt from the stands and landed in the arena with a thud. The ground shook with my impact and I bent my knees slightly to absorb the shock.

I felt a ripple of energy that I thought was dust forming behind me.

"Ms. Miriage," Ms. Goodwitch's voice growled behind me.

"Y-yes?" I said, her aura very imposing.

"Next time, use the appropriate walkways when entering the arena."

"G-got it," I managed to respond. Thank the gods that I didn't have to fight teachers. I couldn't even begin to imagine what it'd be like to spar with someone with so much experience.

With that I engaged my helmet and pulled my shotgun from its holster, racking the bolt and putting a round into the chamber. I prepared everything, set all the options to standby just in case, and stood at the ready. This was going to be a breeze!

Then everything changed.

Inside my armor my hands began to shake. I couldn't understand it. No matter how hard I focused or how many times I flexed and relax them they felt like coiled springs yearning to be released. My vision grew hazy, the world sway in front of me. Then it began.

 _No, no not now!_ I screamed in my mind, feeling an attack coming.

As much as I fought the nightmare took over. I felt blood fill the inside of my armor, it rose until it forced me to breathe it. I shuddered, my vision full of red and blood choking my lungs. A moment later the match began and a large Beowulf appear in front of me, snarling with anger. It was like my first simulations back at Atlas, I was full of fear, full of apprehension. I couldn't get myself to move.

The Grimm smelled the fear seeping from me and made its attack, charging me with full force. I stumbled back, trying to pivot out of the way at the last second. Its shoulder was hard as steel, barreling through my side and tossing me like a ragdoll to the other side of the ring.

Basher, Spira, where were they?! That's right… they were back at the hotel… I was alone. I was alone and there was no one.

The Beowulf stampeded at me on all fours once again. I raised my arms to block its downward strike but I was too slow. It took hold of both my wrists, holding them above my head. Suddenly I wasn't fighting a Beowulf but C-ydna. He was here, he was in front of me, and he was going to beat me again.

Our tussle shook me inside my armor and Andy's picture slide down a bit from where I had put it inside my armor. Snarls and growls came from the Beowulf but I stared at Andy's photo as she stared back at me. To me the world was silent and calm, there wasn't anything left in it except her photo.

I took a deep breath, aware now of the gasps of the crowd watching and their comments. They were saying how my armor did nothing and it was all for show. That honed my focus and the nightmare went away.

With a yell I kicked it in the chest, throwing it to the other side of the ring. It smashed into the side wall, cracking the stone. I picked up my shotgun which I had dropped and took aim.

"Fuck you!" I screamed, firing until there wasn't any ammo left.

My shots were devastating. I had loaded Klaka with my precious dust ammo that I had been saving, each shell firing a firebolt into the helpless Beowulf. With the accuracy I had I tore at its shoulders, both of its arms falling to the ground moments later detached. I wasn't done. Charging the Beowulf I caught it by the neck as it tried to run away, pinning it against the wall. I drew out my plasma sword from my shotgun, severing its legs with two quick slashes, its howls piercing through the gasps of the crowd. For a finale I grabbed the limbless body by its jaws, hearing its razor sharp fangs scrap against my armored fingers. With a spray of blood that coated my armor I tore its body in half by its mandibles.

Then there was silence, as I stood in the rain of Grimm blood with half a Beowulf held in each hand.


	4. Chapter 4

With my rather messy defeat of the Grimm the simulation ended. The mutilated corpse of the Beowulf and the blood that covered me vanished. I suddenly became aware of my armor speaking to me, the mirth of battle subsiding.

"Damage sustained. Damage sustained," the Coffin said.

"Display."

On my screen appeared a schematic version of my suit, areas along the left side of my torso were yellow contrasting the green of the rest of my armor.

"Armor damage minimal. Suit functions sustainable. Unable to unlock armor. Unable to detach," basically saying that I was stuck inside for the time being.

"Emergency eject status?"

"Inoperable."

"Great. Just freaking great," I grumbled, disengaging the helmet from my head.

The Coffin continued though, "Occupant vital signs abnormal. Neural connection down to 84%. Heart rate and breathing elevated, approaching red levels. Correction, heart rate and breathing decreasing to acceptable level."

I forced myself to calm down. The after effects of my flashback combined with the fight had put my body through hell. Mentally it was debilitating but physically it always made me weak. The stress of both though had pushed me much farther than before and the Coffin was reading it. I'd need to work on calming myself or have Basher and Spira always near.

There was a pinching sensation in my neck and a hiss as an auto-infuser injected me with a relaxant. My exoskeleton was fitted with a rudimentary medical system. It couldn't fix me but it could keep me fighting when I couldn't anymore and would also stem off death for a precious time while help was called. In this case, the drug made sure my heart didn't explode.

With a numbing sense of drug induced calm, I picked up my weapons and stalked off to the exit.

The teachers were waiting there along with Ms. Goodwitch.

"Are you hurt?" one asked worriedly.

"No," I replied annoyingly. "I'm fine. My armor is a bit damaged from the fight, nothing major though."

"Ah okay. Our sensors couldn't register your body's status. I believe your armor was blocking all of our sensors," she explained, tapping on her scroll.

"Yeah, I guess it would do that," I mumbled, disappointment beginning to swell within me.

This was the final test and I had botched it up. Now I doubted whether I'd make it into Beacon. I was planning to plow through all of these exams to make up for my written tests but with this last test it was all up in the air. I kept cursing myself and my stupid flashbacks.

"Ms. Miriage," said Ms. Goodwitch, stopping me before I could leave.

A cold shiver crept up my spine. "Y-yes?"

"That was a rather brutal match, a win, but very violent," she hummed with thought, her eyes like a hawk's. "You had a stumble in the beginning, could you tell me what happened?"

"I uhm…" I paused, not knowing what to say. I didn't want anyone to know about my flashbacks, my nightmares, my other… disability. There was only one person who knew and I wanted it to stay that way. She kept my secret as I had kept hers. So I ended up telling up another half-truth.

"I had a malfunction."

"I see. Well it was still an excellent match. Would you like to know your score?"

"Yes, please," I told her.

She turned her scroll around and I saw myself in the top five of all the applicants who had finished their exams. My eyes widened and I shivered with glee. Despite my mistake my scored were still top notch. Better yet there was a score gap between the top five and the rest of the applicants, giving me a safety net. I sighed in relief, hopefully with this it would even out my poorer tests.

"What now?" I asked her.

"Well, you've completed all the exams for today. Go check out where you first entered and you are free to leave. Remember to pick up your belonging from the locker room," she said.

Giving her my thanks I hurried off. I had no intention of staying to watch and I needed to get out, of Beacon and of my armor. Plus I could use the last hours in the day and try and make some money because who knew when I would finally get the results. Until then I was back to my normal grind of making money and scraping a living. After I gathered my things and checked out I stomped out onto the road. Despite whatever I could try I couldn't get the Coffin to release me. It would take tools that I didn't bring plus the help of the two idiots to release me from my walking prison. And so I was cursed to walk out of Beacon and down the sidewalk… in full gear. The heavy falls of my feet shook nearby windows of glass and disturbed neatly stacked newspapers. That was the least of my problems. People would stare at me without even trying to hide their stares, making me ever more self-conscious of myself.

"Just stop staring at me," I muttered to myself as I heard someone ask if I was a new sentry model. I kept my helmet off just so people could see that I was human and not all robot.

"Gods damnit. If I didn't have my stupid flashback I would've been fine. I could've even made the top spot. Now I'm fucking stuck in this damn thing. Coffin was a great nickname Skye. Oh just wonderful. Just perfect. Stupid, smartass Skye," I said to myself. "And you," I said to my picture of Andy, "stay the fuck out of my head."

It was a long walk back to the hotel I was staying at and I was in no rush, plus it was difficult to navigate on the now miniscule sidewalk. Adding on the extra girth of armor took up a lot of room. I had the irritating thought that this is how Basher must feel every day of his life.

A flash and alarm from my armor was the only warning I had, instinctively engaging the helmet that formed over my face. I caught a glimpse of red highlighted areas before the front of a nearby store exploded outward.

"Civilians in danger," the Coffin yelled at me.

I turned and grabbed as many of the pedestrians as I could and tucked them under me, shielding them from the heat and flying debris. It was a few moments before everything dissipated and it was calm again. A women inside my arms was screaming, I could also hear the cries of a baby or child.

"Are you all okay?" I asked to the half dozen or so people I had grabbed. There was a murmur of words as everyone responded and I turned to see the damage.

I froze for a second in horror, reliving that day at Lily's Café. There were a few charred bodies around me, the ones I had failed to save. The people who were nearest to the building that was targeted were either vaporized or now in too many gory pieces to be identified. Some had been thrown into the middle of the street, twitching or groaning with the remnants of life. The opposite side of the road, which I was on, was luckier but still everyone was sprawled on the ground with severe burns or impaled with debris.

My stomach clenched and I felt the food inside clawing its way up my throat. The world I saw began to jump from reality to nightmare and I fought it for control. I held onto my anger, using it as an anchor to the world. It barely kept me here. A shrill caw from above sent a cold, reassuring flush through my body and I saw Spira diving down. In her talons she had Basher by his armor plates, his paws pressed over his eyes due to his fear of heights.

"Hey guys," I chuckled as Spira deposited the frightened Bash onto the ground while she took her post on my shoulder. Bash ran up and head-butted my armor like usual, wrapping himself around my leg for safety from the sky. Spira hummed her greeting and continued to sing softly, knowing the turbulence of my mind.

"Shall we go hunting?" I was met with two steely gazes. "Good."

I ran over to the now ruined building, Spira taking to the skies while Bash climbed up onto my back.

"Full sensor sweep," I told the Coffin.

The image flared as my sensors swept over it, switching different colors and revealing what my naked eye couldn't. There was explosive residue and signs from a large, most likely homemade device. Inside, highlight with red outlines, were the charred remains of the people inside. I cursed, whoever had done this had targeted a dust store. It was smart, their explosive only had to be large enough to combust the dust already present and the exploded forms of dust would conceal whatever traces their device left behind. Still the Coffin was able to highlight a piece of its trigger system and it tagged it as being radio detonated.

I whistled frantically and Spira dove down and landed on my outstretched forearm. Quickly I relayed to her what I needed her to do and she took off once again while Basher hoped off my back and began to sniff around the area. The device had a radio detonator which meant that whoever had set it off had to have a line of sight to it and had to be close by. It meant there were still in the area. By myself I couldn't even begin to cover all the area, the surrounding buildings and back alleys would soak up my sensors leaving me nearsighted. My Grimm however were experts at tracking down others and their Grimm senses were more sensitive than anything that I had.

While they combed the area I began to deal with the people. I took the wounded and laid them all gently in a relatively clear area across the street, tending to what injuries I could. My semblance held too high a cost and I couldn't heal everyone injured. The sirens alerted me to the police and paramedics that had arrived and I went over to inform them of the situation. They mistook me for a robotic sentry at first before I peeled back my visor to show them I was human. Luckily some of them noticed me from the frequent visits to the police station and quickly went to aid the wounded.

Just as I finished relating to them the situation I heard Spira's caw and knew that she had found something. Basher, through some sort of communication with Spira unknown to me, suddenly found a scent and direction. He led me quickly away from the scene of the explosion. Following the two of them they winded through the alleys and streets to a building not too far away. It was five stories high, the tallest building nearby and it looked like a prime spot to spy on the target building. I went to the backside opposite the explosion and climbed up its wall stealthily. I almost fell off when a damn window opened but was able to keep my grip.

As I reached the top I peeked over the edge and saw three men. They were dressed in fairly nice clothes and had their full attention on the emergency crews tending to the explosion site. One had his eye glued to gigantic binoculars while the other two took notes of fiddled with what looked like a detonator. These were the men who bombed that building and murdered all those innocent bystanders. I wasn't going to let them escape.

The Coffin screamed as I pulled myself into the air, landing on the roof with a crash. These men were something else for they didn't freeze although they flinched. They drew guns from inside their clothing and immediately began to fire. Alarms blared in my ears as whatever they were using damaged the exterior of my armor. I fired back in rage but they had already dodged to the side, my shot obliterating their observation and electronic gear. Their gunfire stopped abruptly though due to having to evade my shot and left two on the right and one on the left of the roof.

Now I had the advantage. The building was large but with three of them and my exoskeleton on its roof there was hardly any room to move around. The waist high walls might as well be a hundred feet tall because there was nowhere from these killers to run.

I charged at the pair of men on my right, attempting to finish them before they could recover. My encased foot kicked the man who was on all fours, sending him into a bone-crushing smack with the side wall. That gave time for the other man to get to his feet who tried to shove the muzzle of his machine gun into a crack between the plates of my armor. He didn't expect the speed of my suit, twisting so fast that I broke his arm. His cries of pain were silenced as soon my fist slammed into the side of his face. That only left…

"Fuck!" I screamed, electricity crashed through my suit.

I hadn't expected the other man to recover so fast. He had shot me with some sort of electricity dust and it was playing hell with my systems. The shot must've hit a joint and even then it was lucky that it penetrated the under layers of armor. There was a thud as something jumped onto my back. I keyed a rear camera and saw the last man hanging onto me and stabbing a knife into the back of my neck.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" I yelled. The back of my neck was one of the spots with the least amount of armor since I needed to move my head around. The high shoulder actuators and armor usually would protect it but with someone on my back I was vulnerable.

My visor flashed red as the thin armor began to weaken, a few more strikes and he would stab through into my spine. Bash and Spira attacked ferociously, trying to tear the man away but he was resilient and single-mindedly focus on killing me. A quick shiver of fear washed over me as a sense of defeat and helplessness clawed at me.

"Emergency purge!" I bellowed.

On my command, the Coffin popped the external armor plates on their hinges and steam erupted from every open port on my exoskeleton. It was a gamble, giving him many areas to easily stab through but as a strangled and piercing scream erupted from behind me I knew it had worked. The scalding hot steam from the cooling system could melt skin and cook muscle easily.

I turned around to see my Grimm easily pulling him to the ground, not at all harmed by the burning heat. The last man on the other hand was clawing at his face and skin, only making his wounds worse. All the steam that had been purged from my suit had melted any exposed skin and had burned his clothes into his flesh. It was a gruesome sight but I didn't feel an ounce of guilt.

"Maybe," I growled, "you now know what it was like… what it was fucking like for everyone down there! For all those who didn't get the mercy of a quick death! You know their fucking pain! Burn you piece of scum!"

"AHHHHHHHHH! FUCK! FUCK! HELP! HELP ME! MY SKIN! IT FUCKING BURNS! AHHHH!" he continued to scream.

I aimed my shotgun at him, my finger teasing the trigger. I wanted to kill him. I wanted him to pay with his life. Maybe that way there could be some amount of fairness to everyone innocent who had died. But the blood… the screams… it was real… C-ydna… No!

Klaka fired, blowing a crater next to the bellowing man's head.

"Fuck!" I screamed, clutching my head. "No, no… you get to live."

Grabbing him by the collar I slung him over my shoulder, him screaming with every movement. Spira and Bash took care of the other two after I checked that they were still alive.

"I'm not a killer. No," I corrected myself with a wave of guilt, "I am a killer but… I was. It was another time. I'm different. I'm not there."

With that I leapt off the roof and landed on the ground, shattering the concrete ground beneath me. It only took me a short while to find my way back to the site of the explosion. My arrival startled many of the new crews there who began to treat me as a threat but it was quickly quelled when a few of the people in charge explained who I was. I threw the man I carried hard onto the ground where Spira and Bash laid the other two.

"These are the men responsible for the bombing," I said coldly, keeping my helmet and visor down. Inside my Coffin tears streamed down my face, finally bursting through my battle-high. They were tears for everyone who had died and was hurt, tears for Lily and her café all those months ago, and tears for my doomed murderous soul.

I was gazing at the efforts to investigate the bombing and the paramedics carting away broken bodies. I cursed myself for my stupid semblance, being too weak to save all those people. Many of them would die and though I could save one of them I couldn't do a damn thing about the rest.

"Skye," gasped one of the officers who knew me and was processing the bombers, "are you certain these were the men who detonated the bomb."

"Yeah," I growled looking back at them. "Here," I tossed what was left of their gear that I had policed up, "there's the remains of their detonators, radio, and binoculars."

"Skye," he said still aghast, "these are wanted terrorists, extremely dangerous wanted terrorist. They're on the top ten for bombings all around the city including the one at Lily's Café."

With that piece of knowledge the Coffin whined as it brought every weapon in my arsenal online, it recognizing my intent through its neural link. I took a step towards them unconsciously with closed fists.

"We haven't been able to catch them and they've been running loose for years," he continued, reading things off a scroll. "We could never identify enough about their bombs because of the way they destroyed themselves in their explosions. We knew that they were radio detonated but the few times we could trace the signal they had already escaped. This is… this is…" he mumbled at a loss for words. His eyes widened as he reached the bottom of their files in his scroll and I froze. Even reversed I could still read the large flashing letters that spelt out 'REWARD'.

"And they have a monetary reward for their capture," he told me.

"How… much?" I said feeling instantly giddy.

"It doesn't say. We'll have to take them back to the station to find out but it would be all yours I think. Here, sign this," he said and I frantically scribbled out my name on his scroll. "Come with me to the station and we'll see."

Half an hour later I was standing in the middle of the lobby of the police station. Again everyone was staring at me, this time for more than just my armor. Word had got around like wildfire about my capture of the terrorists. When curious eyes looked to see who the person responsible was they saw a six foot tall, blood splattered, dented, soot covered, and scratched exoskeleton crowding the waiting room. I didn't care, I was happy that I could finally get justice for Lily and everyone else who was killed.

While I was waiting a woman walked into the room, taking a quick glance before recognizing me. She was the same woman who I had protected, the one who had cradled her baby.

"Excuse me," she said cautiously as she walked up to me. "Uhm… they tell me you're the one who caught the terrorists responsible for the… the…"

I turned and nodded, my visor and helmet covering my head and face.

"Oh… uhm… Mister uh, are you a robot?" she raised her voice.

Letting the helmet disassemble itself and tuck away behind me and I faced the woman and took a knee so that I was eye level with her. I scowled, I was tired and exhausted from the fighting, flashbacks, and emotions that had torn me apart inside.

"Oh my word I'm sorry. I thought you were a robot, or at the very least a man. Uh, I'm Margaret, you saved me back in the street," she said introducing herself. Margaret extended a hand but retracted it, glancing at my armored fingers.

"No, I'm just a girl," I told her.

"What is your name?"

"Skye."

"Skye, that's a beautiful name. This is Emily," she said, motioning to the baby she still carried.

Emily was sleeping now, her chubby round face at peace. It warmed my heart seeing the little life I had saved.

"Well, I just wanted to say thank you. You saved us in the street. Without you I don't… I don't… I don't…" she stuttered and began to sob quietly.

Her display of emotion overwhelmed me. I had never been thanked before by someone I had saved. Hell I'd never met someone I had saved before. I didn't know how to act or even respond. Instead I lifted my hand and gently caressed Emily's face with a single, large finger. I was as gentle as I could be, not wanting to harm her with my exoskeleton. It stopped Margaret's sobs in an instant as she watched me carefully touch her baby.

"She's… a cute one," I said softly. "I am glad you're safe and unharmed. At least, you two are," I said grimly reminded of the dozens who I hadn't saved.

I stood back up so that I towered over Margaret and Emily, suddenly feeling guilty and taciturn. I couldn't stare down at these two lives without thinking of the ones that couldn't be here, the ones that would surely curse me down for not saving them.

"You two should… go."

"Oh… I uhm… Yes…" she bowed her head slightly then scurried to the door, taking one last worrying glance at me.

Her pity infuriated me. "Fuck you," I muttered, "I don't need you to fucking look down on me."

"Skye!" the officer working the desk finally called.

"Finally!" I sighed explosively as I stepped up.

Due to the difference in height the old officer was force to crane his neck to look up at me.

"Good job today, you apprehended some dangerous terrorists. Vale is safe from further bombings from them now because of you," he congratulated me.

"How much were they worth?" I said acidly. My mood had soured and I now had no intent to linger around her. I hated everyone in the room. I wanted them to stop staring at me with their admiring eyes. I wanted them to stop pitying me. I wanted them to stop gods damn noticing me.

"Oh," he stammered by my sudden bluntness, "well altogether their arrest total to 20,000 Lien."

 _20,000?!_ I thought with glee. _With that kind of money I could live in comfort for a year!_

"But," he continued, "I can only give you 1,500 of that."

"What?!" I shouted explosively. All heads turned and the room fell silent.

"W-well," he stuttered, pushing away from the desk a bit, "you're not a licensed bounty hunter. So the rest of that reward goes to the government."

I was deathly silent, trying to think of a reason that I could get the full reward. Nothing came to mind because all I could imagine was me tearing apart the police station and bloodying up everyone present. With forced calm I thumped my hand onto the desk, open handed and palm up. He quickly got my meaning and counted the bills and placed them in my outstretched gauntlet with shaky hands. I took the bills and stormed out of the police station, not caring what I crushed, hit, or pushed out of my way.

A couple blocks away I was still fuming with rage, my Grimm trailing behind me. I think they smelt the madness of my mind, knowing it all too well from instinct. They treated me less like a human and more like a Grimm. I thought about how I would blow all my cash on some alcohol to drown out my sorrows. Fuck my streak, I was going to get drunk. As if hearing my thoughts, Spira landed on my right shoulder and slapped me with her wing, forcing my head towards the storefronts besides me.

"Spira you useless, flying piece of-," I froze, staring at what she had forced me to see.

There on my left was the jewelry shop that I had been mesmerized by the night before. I stared at the rows of rings unmoved from their spots, unconsciously finding that cheap and simple ring I had found before. Some part of me deep down pinged with relief to see that it was still there.

"1,000 Lien," I murmured, staring back down at my fist that still clutched the crumpled wad of bills.

"1,000 Lien…"

* * *

"So who's the lucky man?" the lady who was working at the store asked.

"Uh, l-lady," I mumbled rather embarrassed. I still didn't know what the hell I was doing in that store. The money would've been better spent towards fixing my suit and buying money and food too… but instead here I was about to purchase this thing.

"Oh, that's wonderful. It's great that two people can be so happy together don't you think?" she said unlocking the back window to the display and picking out the small ring. "You want this one right?"

My face burned as I took the ring in my rough hands and held it close to my face. It was strange now that there wasn't a glass window between me and it. Looking at the ring through it made it seem unreal, like a faraway thing that I could see but never have. Now that it was there in my hands I felt like it would disappear or that I would wake up from a dream.

"Mmmhmm," I hummed, totally absorbed in the simplistic beauty of the ring.

"So when are you planning to pop the question?" she asked casually, finding an appropriate box and bag to put the ring in.

"Never," I told her solemnly.

She froze, a box in one hand and a gift bag in the other suddenly.

"Never?" she said each syllable like her tongue was numb.

I sighed debating whether or not I should tell her anything. It would be easy to take the ring, pay and leave but it wasn't right. It wasn't likely that we'd ever meet again so I might as well. I was in a slightly nostalgic mood and she had been nice to the two idiots.

"I had an… unusual childhood," I started.

"Most do," she chuckled, resting her elbows on the countertop.

"Yeah I suppose. But when I was young… younger I mean my town was attacked by a Grimm. In the process I lost the ability to walk and feel anything below my waist," I said making her gasp but then her face contorted into one of confusion. "Hehe, yeah I know what you're thinking. I'm standing just fine right now. So I went to… a place and they made me leg braces that gave me all the feeling and ability of my legs back to me. I spent many years there, many long and painful years to regain the use of my legs but I wasn't alone. There was another girl there. She was like me, uh, there to be well… experimented on. We quickly became friends and then, roommates, then support after the long and painful days of tests, and then girlfriends… and then…" I paused reminiscing on all the secret and special times that I had spent with Andy. Thinking about it made my eyes water and I had to put a hand on the counter for support, Basher and Spira nudging me encouragingly. "Then we became lovers."

I looked up and saw a sparkle in the woman's eyes. It looked like she was in a dream or maybe my words and story had lulled her into a nice fantasy, my fantasy.

"It sounds so… perfect," she hummed softly.

"Yeah," I chuckled, "now that I think back to it, after all that I've been through, after all this time, it really was perfect. I mean there was so much pain from our day to day tests and experiments and then there was of course our arguments and the strife of just being in a relationship. We, at first, weren't without our own secrets but soon nothing was hidden from each other. We knew practically everything there was about each other. But then…"

I trailed off feeling the onset of an attack. My hands began to shake and grip the counter, my knuckles white with the strain. The sides of my vision darkened and the strength began to leave my legs. Spira picked up Bash and placed him on the counter where he cuddled my hand. She landed beside him and stared at me and began to sing her lullaby.

"Are you okay?" the woman asked worriedly.

Ignoring her I pulled Andy's photo from my pocket out of habit. I stared long and hard at her picture, calming myself until my breathing slowed and I felt that I had a firm grip on reality.

"Is that her?" she asked.

I nodded, reluctantly handing her the photo.

"She's beautiful, oh, and a faunus too. Are those… cat ears?"

"Fox," I chuckled, imaging how livid Andy would be if someone mistook her ears for something else.

"What's her name, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Andy. Her name is Andy," I said softly. "She was… everything to me, everything that I held dear, everything that I loved, she was my world."

The woman returned my photo to me and I held it tenderly within my fingers, staring longingly at the frozen face.

"So, what happened?"

I took a breath as I relived the memory, the blood, the screaming, C-ydna, Andy's father, and the scientists.

"There was an… incident," I said, leaving it at that. "I decided to leave, forcefully, and escape from all of the pain that was our lives. I asked her to come with me. She said no."

"Oh my Gods… I'm so sorry. That's so sad. Have you had any contact with her since then?"

"No. I've been on my own ever since I left. But…" I grinned as a tear fell down my cheek, "to me, in my heart… nothing has changed. I still feel the same about her. My feelings are as strong if not stronger than they were back then. I still love her… with all… with all…" I couldn't finish my sentence as I broke down in tears.

This was the first time that I had told my story to anyone else besides my Grimm. It hurt, it hurt so much to hear myself say the words aloud. They etched in stone what was usually just a nightmare of a distant memory but here and now they were real, too real. Spira's lullaby turned somber as the woman scurried of and returned with a box of tissues. I must've looked like a wreck, crying uncontrollable at her counter. It was all just too much to bear. All I wanted was to be with her again, to be able to see and talk to Andy. I'd give my life, all my money, everything I had just to see her again. The despicable truth was that none of it was possible, I had ran away and followed my path. There were miles upon miles between us and in the time that I was gone she could've disappeared into places I would never be able to find her in.

"I'm sorry," I said as I regained my composure, wiping the final tears from my face. "It's so stupid and you had to listen to me rant on and on about something that so dumb."

"No, no," she said softly. "It's not dumb, it's love. You love her. You don't know how much your story means to me."

"What do you mean?"

She chuckled, resting her elbows on the counter and holding her chin in her hands. "I had a love just like you once. It was a long, long time ago. We were going to get married but he was an adventurer and a soldier. The Grimm attacked and he went off to protect all of us and me. He had done it so many times before but that time he never returned. I waited and waited but he never came back. The only word I got was a letter informing me that he had been killed in the service. Some part of me is still waiting for him to return."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," I muttered, now feeling so insignificant. Her story was so much more tragic than mine. At least I had some hope of Andy being alive but her, she knew that her love would never return.

"No it's okay, I came to terms with it long ago. But you see, I work here at a jewelry store. We sell necklaces and diamonds and bracelets and all manner of things. Yet the ones that I always pay attention to are the rings. I see couples come and go, filled with love. They are old, young, poor and rich and they all were chasing after that dream of happiness with their loves. Some live happily, others come back to return the rings after things didn't work out but you," she paused, placing her hand over mine.

Basher took the moment to flop onto our hands and lick hers, making her chuckle.

"You are in love, still in love, with someone you don't even have the slightest clue where she might be. I guess you remind me of myself but your love is so strong that you haven't given up hope. That… that tells me that your love is true, genuine, and so much stronger than anyone else's love. You love almost without hope. It makes me feel… bewildered at your strength," she said, petting Bash with her free hand.

Her words struck me deep, tickling the core of my being. I had never thought of it that way. Loving without hope sounded desperate, sad, like I had forgone myself to a future of hardship with no reward. Yet it was like she said, the strength of my love kept me going.

"True love is so hard to find and harder even to realize," she continued, staring into my eyes, "but I know for a fact that you have found it in her, in Andy."

"I… Guess," I mumbled, thinking on the aching burn of my heart.

Without another word she slid her hand from mine and went to the other counter. She quickly boxed, wrapped, and bagged the ring I wanted and brought it over to me. Placing the bag on the counter she slid it over to me with a smile.

"Oh," I said, fumbling to get out my wallet. "That's 1,000 Lien right?"

"No," she said gently, stopping my hands from pulling out the crumpled bills. "I want you to have this."

"What? For free? No, no I can't possibly do that. It cost too much!" I exclaimed.

"For the true love it cost nothing. I would only ask you to promise me one thing."

I hesitated for a moment but then said, "What is it?"

"Promise me, that no matter what, you'll never let go of your love for her, for your Andy."

I dropped my wallet and stared at her in disbelief. My eyes wandered to Bash and Spira who were looking at me with piercing gazes, then to Andy's photo that laid on the counter. Andy… The tears began to roll down my face again and I struggled to steady my voice.

"I promise."


End file.
